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The House of Dies Drearbased on the novel by Virginia Hamilton

Richard Wesley

CHARACTERS

Thomas Small, a thirteen-year-old boy

Walter Small, Thomas's fatherSheila Small, Thomas's motherKenneth Small, Thomas's brother

Great-grandmother Jeffers, Walter's

grandmotherPluto Skinner, caretaker of the house

of Dies DrearMayhew Skinner, Pluto's son

River Lewis Darrow, head of theDarrow family

Pesty, a twelve-year-old girl

Mac Darrow, the youngest Darrow boyWilbur Darrow, thirty-eightRiver Ross Darrow, thirty-seven

Russell Darrow, late twentiesEdgar Carr, handymanPastor, Two Young Pastors, Choir

TECHNICAL TERMS

BLACKOUT: End a scene by cutting andleaving the screen black.

CLOSE-UP: Move the camera in close to

focus on a detail.

cut TO: Change directly from one sceneto the next.

dissolve (also called "lap dissolve"):

Change scenes by fading in a new

image while the existing one fades out.DOLLY: Move the camera on a wheeled

platform (a "dolly") to change the view.EXT: Exterior shot.

fade-in: Begin a scene by bringing itinto focus gradually.

fade-out: End a scene by darkening

the image until it disappears.

FREEZE FRAME: Repeat a single frame

of film many times so as to create theeffect of a still photograph.

INT: Interior shot.

MONTAGE (man tazh'): Create a sequence

of alternating scenes or images.OC: Off camera.

OS: Off screen.

POV: A character's point of view.

TWO-SHOT: A medium-range camera

shot of two persons.

VO (voice-over): Have a voice speaking ornarrating off camera.

The Mouse of Dies Drear 245

Act I

FADE IN TO INT: GREAT-GRANDMOTHERJEFFERS' KITCHEN—DAY

Tight close-up of an old woman's strong,

wrinkled hands carefully putting pieces ofchicory in a smoking pan; the pan is on anancient, wood-burning cast-iron stove. We

can hear the woman humming a tune andmuttering as she goes about her task. Her

hands, the pan, and the stove are lit by theflames from the fire; the smoke and sur¬rounding darkness give the scene an eerie

atmosphere.

thomas. (VO) Great-grandmother?

CUT TO INT: KITCHEN—ANOTHERANGLE—DAY

thomas small, thirteen years old, stands by

the door in the flickering light from thestove. He moves closer to his ninety-one-

year-old great-grandmother, fascinated byher actions.

thomas. What're you doin'?

great-grandmother. Flxin' to roast somechicory. 'Spect I'll roast it all night and allday tomorrow.

thomas. But why're you gonna do that,Great-grandmother?

great-grandmother. Because, boy . . .

because!

thomas. Because what, Great-grand¬mother?

great-grandmother. Because no tellin'

what fool thought took hold of your Daddy toleave these hills an' go live in some craven

house. Roastin' chicory's the best way to

ward off calamity.

thomas. Calamity?

We hear the sound of a car horn.

great-grandmother. C'mon, boy, best~\^r||;go on outside. Your folks is waitin'.*

They start to move out of the kitchen.

CUT TO EXT: FARMHOUSE—DAY:¦ !

The front gate of the home of great-grand. '•

mother jeffers, in North Carolina. Tlufi "tsmall house is fronted by a yardflled wiihi:

freshly grown vegetables. The picket fence^has a broken gate. A dog sleeps lazily on ^the front porch. We see a car, laden withsuitcases and packages stuffed in its trunk1and tied to its roof, parked in front of the^house. walter small, thirty-eight, his wife ' "

sheila, thirty-seven, and Kenneth, Jive, arewaiting by the car. great-grandmotherand thomas emerge from the house. :

they walk through the gate, thomas sfopsf

thomas. Great-grandma, I was s'posed toyour gate—and who gon' paint it eaciT'Uspring?

great-grandmother. You think you the "

only boy who can paint my gate?tr

thomas. I'm the only one who ever has. *

great-grandmother.

sure, right there.That's the truth for

Walter. Grandma, I'll send him back in the *

spring during the Easter break. He can paintyit then.

great-grandmother, [quietly, somewhat -

sadly] Spring. Hm. That's a long row to hoip.son. Don't see why you gotta go all the way toOhio no way. Plenty-a colleges 'round hereof

Walter. Because they need a good

professor, Grandmother, an' they happen Jo,think I fit the bill.

great-grandmother. Hear tell you

yourself quite a house out there. vf§

246 Drama

rjr-''

-didn't buy it, Grandmother. I'm

[t. Besides, the place is very

Meanin' it's as old as the hills.

00ltA't sheila. who stares rightmrai 'yOK>^ « at ft'rTl

^USOTHER. Seems to me if you

an (,|d house with some history you

louiai plenty of them 'round here.r)Uht y'all takin' these two fine littleS far from they Great-grandmother

now that she gettin' on in age. Come here,chirrun.1

thomas and Kenneth move close to her.

thomas. Will you sing me that ol' song youalways sang when I was sad?

great-grandmother. You wanna hear thatol' thing?

kenneth. Me, too.

1. chirrun (ohi' ran): Dialect term for "children."

m sst'owonirK S QUILT (detail), 1988

The House of Dies Drear 247

great-grandmother. [S/ie looks at bothboys.] Somethin' to remember me by, huh?Okay . . . [sings]

Any rags, any bones, any bottles today?The big, black ragman's comin' your way.

Any rags, any rags,Oh, any rags.[She repeats.]

thomas. [softly] Great-grandmother, I'llwrite once we get settled in good.

great-grandmother. An' I'll read that let¬

ter, too, soon as I get to an eye doctor an' getmy spectacles fixed.

Everyone laughs, but the laughter givesway to an awkward silence, thomas looksat his great-grandmother for a long while,

then embraces her. She holds him tightlyand he, her. There is a tear in her eye.

great-grandmother. Get along, now. An'

take care of your baby brother.

It is very hardfor everyone to say goodbye.Everyone gives great-grandmother a hug

and a gentle kiss, thomas moves awayfromhis great-grandmother and goes with his

father to the car. He gets in, waves to hisgreat-grandmother as the car pulls away.

CUT TO INT: THE CAR—DAY

thomas sits in the back seat with his broth¬er kenneth, staring back at his great-

grandmother. He watches her turn slowlyand walk back toward the house and dis¬

appear inside. He turns in his seat, heaves

a deep sigh, places his arm around Ken¬neth, and stares ahead.

DISSOLVE TO EXT: DAY—A MONTAGE

The smalls' car speeds down Interstate

Highway 40 west. A sign indicates they areapproaching the town of Asheville, NorthCarolina.

CUT TO EXT: THE HIGHWAY AND CAR—DAY

We are on a long shot of the smalls' carofjtravels along. A sign indicates KnoxvaiTennessee.

thomas. [VOJ Papa, tell me again about DfcLDrear and how he used our new house illthe Underground Railroad.2;aj|

Walter. [VO: BY ROTE] Dies Drear wallwealthy abolitionist, out of New Englandwho moved to Ohio and . . . Thomas, rjptold you all this before.'

CUT TO EXT: THE OUTSKIRTS OFCINCINNATI—DAY

The smalls' car leaves Interstate 75 qt

makes the connection to Ohio Route 68.

thomas. [VO] Papa, is it true that Dies Drearused to give escaped slaves money to go bacf-into slavery?'

Walter. [VO] Yea, that's right, son.

thomas. [VO] But why?

CUT TO EXT: HIGHWAY—DAY

The car passes through rolling hillsgreen fields. The sky is a clear blue.

Walter. [VO] Because after they werecaught and went back, they passed the hi|-1den money on to other slaves, who woulijattempt to escape.

thomas. [VO] But why would slaves neemoney?

Walter. [VO] Well, even a fleeing slave needs^maneuvering money. He would need foand shelter and the best and safest way for*him to get it was to buy it from free blacfjpeople.^

CUT TO INT: THE CAR

2. Underground Railroad: a system set up byabolitionists, or opponents of slavery, before the Civii! JWar to help slaves escape to free states and Canada, jDies Drear's house was used as an UndergroundRailroad "station."

248 Drama

sheila, hay-asleep, stirs, kenneth andthomas are dozing. walter looks tired.

sheila. How close are we?

Walter. 'Bout another hour and a half,

baby.

kenneth begins to stir.

Sheila, [comforting kenneth] Whatsamat-ter, honey?

kenneth. I'm scared.

thomas. Hey, lookl That's what's botherin'

Kenneth, I'll bet.

His parents look ahead.

CUT TO EXT: THE HIGHWAY—DAY

A huge rain-filled cloud, as dark as night, isapproaching them head-on. The sky growsmore and more ominous. The wind begins

to howl, kicking up dust and buffeting thecar. Traffic on the highway begins to slowas the storm rapidly approaches.

CUT TO INT: THE CAR

kenneth begins to cry.


Wind and rain slam into the car, causing itto swerve violently.

CUT TO INT: THE CAR

The family is shaken about andfrightened.


The car continues on through the stormand wind and driving rain. There is violentthunder and lightning.

DISSOLVE TO EXT: A TWO-LANEBLACKTOP—DAY

The storm continues unabated. We see the

headlights of the smalls' car as it moves

250 Drama

down the small road. The car turns

road and proceeds down a dirt road.

CUT TO INT: THE CAR

kenneth is now curled up asleep1

back, thomas is crouched behind the- n

seat, peering out through the front i|shield. Walter is hunched over the

squinting because the driving rain ha^ ^ ¦-?!duced visibility to a near impossibility^

CUT TO EXT: DIRT ROAD—WALTER'S PQV ^

The car's headlights illuminate the roQ$ ^front of them. The thick storm clouds htjoe *¦made it seem as if it were night. The ^buffets the leaves and bushes violently ^Rain splatters against the windshield, '

CUT TO INT: THE CAR:§'

thomas. Papa, we aren't lost, are we? 7

Walter. No . . . not yet, anyway.

thomas. [reassuringly] Don't worry, you'J] 3}get us through, Papa.;

Walter, [smiling] How can I fail when I g(,t abig man like you on my side?,;.

thomas begins to hum great-gr/^ '

mother's "Ragman" song. There is onlytfghumming for a while; then, suddenly: " ;

sheila. Walter, look out!

waiter quickly hits the brakes.

CUT TO INT: THE CAR—WALTER'S POV CTTHE ROAD—DUSK

As if out of nowhere, the figure of a naaappears. He is river lewis darrow, aman, well over six feet tall and in exceszyf200 pounds. He wears a black raincoatssta black rainhat

CUT TO EXT: SIDE OF ROAD—DUSK Si

.J®-

The man wears long black rubber boots. A

¦lidding dog, rather large in size, stands

drenched next to him. In one hand darrow.arrtes a large double-barreled rifle. In the

other he holds the carcasses of severalfreshly killed rabbits. There is a scowl on'ihe man's face as he glares at the car.

cut to int: the car—dusk

The whole family stares at the man.

thomas. Papa, where'd he come from?

walter. I don't know, son. Guess he was

standin' there all the time.

sheila. Maybe he knows how to get to thehouse. Ask him, Walter.

thomas. But, Mama, he got a gun.

sheila. Oh, Thomas, he was just out hunt-

in'. You've seen men hunt before.

thomas. I ain't never seen no man like him

before, Mama.

walter rolls down the window.

cut to ext: car—dusk

The man and the dog walk near. The deadrabbits are held in plain sight, thomas andkenneth spend equal amounts of time look¬

ing at the rabbits and the dog, while sheilaand Walter stare intently at the man.

Walter. Excuse me, sir. I'm trying to find a

house.

darrow. [sullen] Plenty houses 'round here,

mista. Which one you want?

Walter. I'm lookin' for the house of Dies

Drear.

darrow's eyes flash for the briefest instant.His grip tightens on the gun.

darrow. Why you want that house? Ain'tnobody lived in there for nigh on sixty years.

Walter. Well, some do, now. We're moving

in. We leased it.

Walter's smile disappears when he sees

that darrow's already hardened visage3has turned to a countenance of sheer ha¬

tred.

darrow. That so? Follow this road. It'll takeyou straight there. Not that it'll mattermuch. You won't be there long.

. darrow steps back from the car.

Walter. Hey, what's that supposed to

mean?

darrow. firmly] I'm tired of standin' in thisrain.

Walter rolls up the window and puts thecar in gear, kenneth crawls over the frontseat and curls in his mother's arms, thomas

presses against the window and tries to geta better look at darrow, the dog, and thedead rabbits. The dog snarls and barksvigorously as the car moves away, darrow

stands staring at them. There is a look ofcontempt and hatred etched on his face. Heslings the rabbits over his shoulder andwalks off into the rain and night, the dog athis side.

CUT TO INT: THE CAR

thomas stares out of the back window atdarrow and the dog. He is both fascinatedand frightened. He sits back down andholds out his hand. It is trembling. He tucksit into his lap and tries to force himself torelax, but he cannot.

sheila. He came out of nowhere! Frightenedme to death.

Walter. Well, relax. He's gone and we'll be

there, soon.

3. visage (viz' ij) n.: The face and the expression,on it.


CUT TO INT: THE CAR—DUSK

sheila holds Kenneth and glances over at

Walter, who concentrates on his driving.He is nervous but tries not to show it.thomas watches them both with growingapprehension.

CUT TO EXT: THE ROAD—DUSK

The car proceeds through the woods andsuddenly the trees give way to a clearing.There is a loud, shattering clap of thunder;then a searing flash of lightning hits a treeand fells it near the car. Walter swerves to

avoid it. Another flash of lightning, andthey see it. A huge, monstrous-looking"

house, made more ominous by the storm. It'is Victorian4 in nature, yet seems formlessand unnatural It has a dark, isolated Zoo/c sabout it. It stands on a hill.

CUT TO INT: THE CAR—DUSK

Kenneth looks at the house and begins tocry, burying his head against sheila's

4. Victorian (vik tor' e an): Of a style of architecturepopular during Queen Victoria's reign (1837-1901),characterized by massiveness and ornate carving.

LANDSCAPE WITH SUM SETTING. 1930William H. JohnsonHoward University Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

breast, thomas and sheila simply stare in

quiet disbelief.

sheila, [quietly, with apprehension] Wal¬

ter ¦ • • ?

thomas. Papa, is that it?

WALTER. Yes, son . . . our new home, [softly]

Our new home.

CUT TO EXT: THE HOUSE OF DIES

DREAR—DUSK

Lightning continues to illuminate the houseagainst the sky. The howling wind mixesWith Kenneth's crying to create an eerie

sound that seems to emanate from the

house itself.The rainstorm continues as the small

family gets out of the car and runs onto theveranda of the house. The house itself sitson an outcropping on the side of a hill. Theface of the outcropping is rock, from whichmineral springs gush. These springs emptyinto a small nearby stream. Running down

the face of the ledge, these springs paintthe rocks in their path with red and yellowrust. As he stands on the veranda waiting

for Walter to open the door, thomas watch¬

es these springs.

thomas. Hey, it looks just like the house isbleedin*. Like somebody cut this place openunderneath and let all the blood run out.

kenneth. Mama, I'm scared!

sheila. Enough of that kinda talk. Walter,you got that door, yet?

Walter grunts an answer, and the door

swings open. Everyone enters.

CUT TO INT: THE HOUSE OF DIESDREAR—FRONT HALLWAY—DUSK

The heavy front doors through which theyenter swing shut silently and effortlesslybehind them. They enter a house that is

still and quiet, and despite the fact that theelectricity is working and a few lights areon, there is still an eerie quality about theplace. The entrance is a long wide hall, one

part of which is cut by stairs that rise in acurve and disappear into the darkness ofthe upper floors. In the distance in front ofthem is a wide doorway leading to thekitchen. On either side of the hall are largedoors leading into sitting rooms. One door

is closed, the other half opened. Somethinghas stopped Walter dead in his tracks.thomas looks up at him. sheila and Ken¬neth walk ahead into another room.

thomas. Papa?

Walter. Something's wrong. I had expected

our furniture from the van to be piled up inthis hall, Thomas.

thomas. Where is it?

sheila. [VO] Walter! Walter, come here,

quick!

Walter heads for the sitting room, thomas

lags behind his father just a bit. He passesby a grand, old, gilded mirror, on eitherside of which are two end tables, thomas

catches his image in the mirror out of theside of his eye and is startled momentarily.He jumps and takes several steps back,sucking in his breath. When he realizes it isonly a mirror, he relaxes, then notices the

tables. He touches them, then heads inside

the sitting room.

INT: THE SITTING ROOM—TWILIGHT

Walter stands near sheila, kenneth is hold¬

ing onto his father's leg very tightly andstanding a bit behind him. thomas comesin and is surprised by what he sees:Two oversized easy chairs are placed

side by side with a mahogany lamp be¬tween them. The chairs sit like soldiers ontheir guard. A couch is across the room

from the chairs. Between two of the floor-to-ceiling windows stands the worktable

from the kitchen in the smalls' old home. Atthe far end of the room is a massive fire¬place. No fire has been lit, but wood isneatly piled nearby, and Kenneth's littlerocking chair sits to one side of the hearth.

sheila. Walter, our furniture. But, who

could have done this?

walter. PlutO.

thomas. Who?

WALTER. Pluto. He's the caretaker for this

house. Has been for years. I think he was

brought in by the foundation that owns this

place.

Thomas. Pluto? Where'd he get that name?

walter. That's not his real name, Thomas.Sort of a nickname he's come to be known

by around here.

thomas. Papa, Pluto's another name for the

Devil, right?

walter. Right.

thomas. Now, why on earth would some¬

body take a name like (hat?

sheila. Well, whoever (his Mr. Pluto is, he

sure knows how to decorate a home. This is

just beautiful! How could he have known Iwas gonna want it like this?

sheila walks over to the worktable.

sheila. Look! My old worktable from thekitchen back home. Ho's sanded it andsmoothed it over with linseed oil. Oh, it's

just beautiful!

At either end of the tabic are plants of ivy inwhite china tureens.

Walter. Pluto's a pretty old man. And he's

got a bad leg. This mu^t've been quite a

chore for him. He could've hurt himself.

sheila. Well, I'm going to fix him the mostdelicious meal I can think of as a way ofsaying thanks.

thomas looks around,frowning, as he holdskenneth's hand. kenneth has stopped cry.

ing, but he still seems a little frightened.Something is bothering thomas.

thomas. Kenneth, go on with Mama a

moment.

Kenneth is hesitant.

sheila. Look, Kenneth, there's your favoritelittle rockin' chair, right over here by thefireplace.

thomas pushes kenneth gently towardsheila, kenneth goes, reluctantly, at first,but then is pulled by the curiosity provokedby sheila's statement, thomas comesnearer to his father.. I

thomas. Papa, you notice somethin' aboutthe way this furniture is set up?

Walter, [looks around] No. Just arrangedperfectly to fit this room. That's all I see. v

thomas. That old Pluto, whoever he is, hasarranged all the furniture in here so it'spointin' in one direction . . . right at thosetwo large windows, there.•/

thomas points toward the windows. When

waiter looks around the room again, he cansee that thomas is right, but he hides hisfeelings behind an expressionless stare.

thomas. See. Papa. It's a sign—a warning.We'd better not stay here.

waiter says nothing, sheila comes nearthem again.

sheila. I hope you two are whispering aboutdividing up the chores I have planned foryou.

thomas frowns.^

"sJ?"

254 Drama

sheila. Thomas, what's wrong?

THOMAS. Who does this Mr. Pluto think heiSi workin' out the cuts on Mama's table?He's sure taken a lot on himself. He's got no

business in here! This is our house!

thomas's outburst surprises everyone. Wal¬

ter speaks, finally, as kenneth now movesto thomas's side and stands behind him.

waiter. You have no business talking likethat, Thomas. It was very decent of him,puttin' the house in order. No one expected

him to, and you don't speak ill of kindness.

thomas stares at his father a moment, but

Walter does not meet his gaze.

sheila. Uh, oh. Cranky people means every¬body is tired. Let's go on upstairs and getready for bed.

sheila starts out and Walter follows. Ken¬

neth takes thomas's hand.

thomas. You see the look on Papa's facewhen I said that? He didn't like all this anymore than I did. I know he didn't.

kenneth says nothing. He pulls thomasalong in an attempt to catch up to theirparents. As the boys exit the room, thecamera swings back across the room and

settles on the large windows. Cameramoves toward the windows. Outside the

rain has stopped. Only water dripping fromthe eaves on the veranda and from theleaves in the nearby trees can be seen. A

mist is quite visible outside. But, there is¦something else there . . . barely visible. Anoutline, or shadow, something man-like,

large and powerfully built, standing near atree, motionless, dressed in black. We can¬

not get a good view of the shadow. It backsaway into the darkness and is gone. From adistance we hear a mysterious sound:

Ahhhhh. Ahhhhhh. Ahhhhhh.

Act IIEXT: HOUSE—MORNING

The sun is bright and shining. We see theHouse of Dies Drear, the surrounding hills,the dirt road, the nearby stream with an oldwooden bridge going across it. There is

green everywhere and the sky is a clear

blue.

CUT TO INT: KITCHEN—DAY

The boys are finishing breakfast and sheilais searching a fully stocked refrigerator forchoices for that night's dinner.

thomas. Sorry I missed Papa. I was gonna

talk to him.

sheila, [at the refrigerator} No, he left early,Thomas. My, I can't get over this. That oldPluto even stocked this refrigerator. There's

all kindsa goodies in here.

thomas. Mama, me an' Kenneth finished

eatin'. We're gonna go on out.

sheila. Okay, but don't stray far. You still

don't know this land that well.

thomas. Okay, c'mon, Kenneth.

thomas and kenneth clear the kitchen tableand go out of the kitchen down the long halltoward the front of the house.

CUT TO EXT: VERANDA—DAY

kenneth exits the front door, which is oakand trimmed with carved quatrefoils.5 Hestands before the door, staring. He seems

frightened by something, thomas comesonto the veranda and stands besidekenneth.

thomas. Kenneth, what's wrong with you?

S. quatrefoils (kat'ar foilz) n.: Designs resemblingflowers with four petals.


KENNETH. I don't like that door!

thomas. Aw, c'mon, Kenneth. It's just a

door. Look.

thomas moves closer to the door to get abetter look, but can see nothing. He backsaway and stands near the weathered frontsteps, painted white to match the rest ofthe house, then comes back toward the

door, kenneth says nothing—but starts to

whimper.

thomas. What are you staring at?

Now, he sees something; the quatrejoils areshaped like petals. One has a tiny woodenbutton in the center, thomas cautiouslywaves his hand over the button—he can

feel and we can hear a stream of cold airemanating from around it. His trembling

finger presses the button, but nothing hap¬pens. thouas jerks it, pulls it, and pressesit again. Suddenly, kenneth screams and

runs back into the house.

thomas. Hey, Kenneth, come back here!What's wrong with you?

kenneth does not return, thomas stands

puzzled for a moment. He looks around,

turns and goes to the edge of the veranda.He looks down and is surprised to find thatthe steps have shifted over about four feet.And where they once were is a gaping blackhole about three feet around. Quickly helooks back at the quatrefoil and realizesthat the steps were moved by the button hepushed. He is about to go down the holewhen a sound from around the side of thehouse draws his attention. He backs away

from the hole and follows the verandaaround the side to investigate. He can

hardly believe what greets him.

CUT TO EXT: THE HOUSE AND ITSGROUNDS—DAY

Out of the trees on the right side of thehouse, a huge black horse appears. It is thelargest horse thomas has ever seen

Astride its back is pesty, a girl with jetblack skin and flashing, almost dancing,eyes. Her head is wrapped in a white silkscarf that has lace at the edges and shewears redflannel pajamas with lace at theneck and sleeves. She is about twelve

years old. She wears no shoes and sits wellforward near the horse's shoulders. Her

arms are folded across her chest and she is

staring into the distance, serene and hap¬

py. She seems to take no notice of thomason the veranda. Following behind, on foot,is mac darrow, a big fourteen-year-oldblack youth, rather husky and well-muscledfor his age. He is clutching the bighorse's tail. [These children and other lo¬cals will'speak with an Ohio accent, similar

to southern but not quite the same. It willbe noticeably differentfrom that of thomasand his family.],

mac. Whoa, you mean old devil horse! Whoa,

I said!^

The horse continues to walk with pestyastride its back. It's plain that pesty is in.

control.A

mac. Pesty, get down off that horse and let's

go! I got things I want to do!.

pesty only laughs and turns the horse withjust her legs and toes, mac throws thehorse's tail aside in disgust.

mac. Well, go 'head on, then. It's your be¬

hind that get whipped. Not mine.

pesty laughs again and she and the horseseem to head right for thomas and theveranda. She seems not to notice him at all. ;

mac follows behind, walking casually, his .hands thrust in the pockets of his jeans-^He glances at thomas but says nothing.

THOMAS/oUolus them both around the sideof the house back to the front steps and thehole- There the horse comes to a halt, pesty

and mac look down at the hole, thomasremains silent, however, as he moves near

[he button, his eyes on mac and pesty.

mac. Pesty, tell that horse to hold It! Youwant to walk him clear down that hole,there, or you want to walk him right throughthe front door of this house?

pesty says nothing. She laughs and peersdown at the hole. Then she looks up. atthomas for the first time and grins. Just asquickly she looks away and back down thehole, thomas is affected by the sweet smileand a faint smile crosses his lips before hecatches sight of mac moving close to thehole and peering down into it

mac. Oooweee, Pesty. Anybody go foolin'

around down there might get themselveslost forever. Lost in one of Dies Drear's old

tunnels, never to be found again.

pesty. Shoot, ain't true, atall.

mac. Now, how do you know that?

pesty. [evasive] 'Cause I know, that's how.

mac. [finally turns to Thomas] Hey?. Yougoin' down there?

thomas. Maybe.

thomas glares at mac. He feels they aremaking fun of him.

mac. [laughing] Good luck.

pesty. You quit laughin' at him, you ol'

laughin' high-eena.

memories of the meadowJohn HolyfleldCourtesy of Essence Art

mac. You got any smartmouth little peoplelike this in your family?

thomas. I got a kid brother, but he ain't no

smartmouth. My family been told that hemight be psychic. He feels things before theyhappen.

pesty. Psycho?6 Like in that old movie?Wow!

thomas. No . . . oh, never mind. Forget it.

mac. Well, if you go down there, look out forthe ghost of Dies Drear.

pesty. Ain't no need to worry, though. Mr.Pluto is his earthly friend. An' if the ghostmess with you, you call Mr. Pluto. If Mr.Pluto takes a likin' to you he'll save you, if hedon't, well . . . too bad for you.

pesty laughs.

thomas. Pluto may scare you, but he don'tscare me.

pesty. That's cause you don't know him.

Everybody 'round here knows he's a demon.

You cross him, an' that's it. You could bewalkin' down the street an' the next thingyou know, both your arms can fall right olf.An' you'll say, "Aaa, my arms." An' that's

when you'll know ol' demon Pluto done

gotcha.

pesty looks at thomas and thomas looksback at her. Suddenly, she breaks out intoa wide grin.

mac. Girl, you better go 'head on, tellin'them stories.

pesty. So? Daddy sho* nuff believes 'em. I

heard him call Mr. Pluto a demon plenty oftimes.

mac. Daddy just talkin', that's all.

6. Psycho (si' ko): Famous movie directed by AlfredHitchcock, released in 1960.

;3pesty. Wanna bet? [to thomas] Listen, don'

nobody mess around this property less Mi-Pluto wants 'em to. An' if he don't like you

he'll come up out the ground like the devfan' grab you. So you just go on an' clim:down that hole an' see if what I say am';true..-.j

mac. Guess you plannin' on findin' out jus

how quick you can get scared in the dark.5

mac chuckles, and pesty maintains he)sweet smile as she looks at thomas. thom'

as is a little angry at both, by now. ^

thomas. Who are you?|

He moves closer to the edge of the veranda,just above the gaping hole.

thomas. Y'all from around here?j

A very polite smile crosses mac's face as he

looks up from the hole again. He. addressesthomas almost as though seeing him for thefirst time.

•v|mac. Well, how you been an' how you feelingWe the Darrows' children. I'm Mac, tli(

youngest son.||

pesty. And I'm Pesty. I live with them, too,"if

mac. Pesty's a name I give her 'cause she

likes to bother me so. You know, like a pest!My Daddy calls her Sarah, an' my Mama

calls her Sooky. That ol' Mr. Pluto calls herLittle Miss Bee, and ...

pesty. [interrupting] An' I guess you can

make up a name, too. It won't matter to me'cause I'm always gonna know who 1 am. '|j

thomas. You live with him, but you ain't his

sister?:|1 Hpesty. All he got is brothers. I was left on

their doorstep in a new tin tub when he was

just three years old and 'sleep in bed, Ipoiiming to mac] His mama brought me in tH|house, showed me to his daddy an' I beealivin' there ever since..31

258 Drama

mac and pesty laugh.

THOMAS. Adopted.

pesty. Hey, whatchu doin' on Mr. Pluto's

porch? He'll snatch you baldheaded if hefinds you.

sjac. What's worse, he'll turn Pesty loose on

you, then you'll really be in a mess.

Thomas, [angry] First off, Mr. Pluto justworks here, cause this is my father's housenow, and second off, y'all ain't got no busi¬

ness on private property.

mac and pesty convulse in derisive laugh¬

ter. thomas jumps down off the verandaand lands near the hole. He peers down

inside.

thomas. Y'all better go 'head on. Nobody

wants to be bothered with you.

mac. Where you think you goin'?

thomas. Part of the Underground Railroadmust be down this hole. I aim to find it.

mac and pesty look at one another.

pesty. Underground Railroad? Boy, ain't no

railroad tracks down there.

thomas looks at her incredulously, then

prepares to jump down into the hole.

mac. You really fixin' to go down that hole?

thomas simply looks at him without sayinga word.

mac. Want some company?

thomas. I don't need any help.

mac. Yea, say that now. But 'spect you'll beneedin' me later on.

pesty begins to laugh, so does mac.

pesty. If you get scared, just holler!

mac. Come on, girl. I know Mama must got

breakfast ready by now. Come on!

They start off. mac turns.

mac. What's your name?

thomas. Thomas Small.

mac. Reckon I'll be seein' you around. Come

on, Pesty!

thomas watches as mac walks away, pesty

looks down from her horse.

pesty. Hey, Thomas Small, the new boy.How you like these new red night clothes?Ain't they pretty? I like red. Mr. Pluto saidred was the best color.

mac. It's the color of fire. Pluto keeps fire.

thomas. Like the Devil.

pesty. What? You sure strange, new boyThomas Small. Well, I'm Mr. Pluto's helper

around here. You ever get in some trouble,you call me 'cause I can getchu outa it. Hear?

thomas does not answer, pesty smiles hersweet smile.

pesty. Bye. Gidap, hoss!

The horse trots away with the girl clutch¬ing its mane. They move past mac, whosaunters along leisurely, his hands thrustinto his pockets, thomas watches them amoment, then turns his gaze toward the

hole. He picks up a small stone and drops itto gauge the depth. The sound indicatesthat it is not too deep. He takes a deepbreath, looks around, and jumps down intothe hole.

CUT TO INT: THE HOLE UNDER THEHOUSE AND TUNNEL

The hole is almost pitch black. The onlylight showing emanates from above. Thedrop of jive feet has momentarily stunnedthomas and he has to wait to catch hisbreath. The ground is damp and smells likemildew. When he gets to his feet, thomasfumbles in his pocket and finds a small


pencil-thin flashlight, which he uses to lighthis way. He spies a steep stairway leadingdownward not too far from where he hasfallen. He is surrounded on all sides bybrick—a wall of some sort. The boy makes

his way down the steps and into the dark¬ness—down, down, down, deep inside theground. He is below the foundation of thehouse. The pathway is cramped and tiny.

As he presses more deeply into the pas¬

sageway, he is aware that his feet arebecoming wet. Some distance away he canhear the sound of one of the brooks. Hissneakeredfeet are now in a few inches of

water, which flows along the passagewayfloor. The place is strangely silent. Hisbreathing is the only other sound he canhear now. For effect, he grunts aloud. Thesound has afull resonance to it, the likes ofwhich he has never heard before. It isalmost as though he was speaking througha speaker system that had the bass turnedup full blast. He continues until he comes toa place where the path widens. The wallsare now four feet away on either side. Longslabs are along each wall.

thomas. [whispering} Places for the run¬away slaves to sit.

thomas sits on the slab and touches it.

thomas. They musta been so scared. Alone.

How could they see down here? How couldthey stand it?

thomas sits in silence for a brief second,then rises and continues on. The path

narrows again. Somewhere in the distance,

he hears the faint sound of movement. Heshines the light ahead, but can see nothing.He continues on, but slips on the wet floorand drops the light. It rolls behind him intothe darkness. We can barely see thomas,

but we can hear his breathing and hisvoice.

thomas. The light's gotta be here some-:!

place. All I gotta do is get on my knees and 1feel...

He feels around, but without luck.

thomas. I couldn'a kicked it that far. Where 1is it? Where . . . ?

We hear his scrambling about, but we cantell now that it will get him nowhere.

thomas. All I gotta do is crawl along thispath. It's leadin' up, now. I'll just follow itright on outa here.

He begins to whistle great-grandmother'ssong as he crawls along. Then:

thomas. What's that?

thomas is silent. We can hear his heavy

breathing. We can also hear a strangesound—something forlorn and lost andcold.

We hear: AHHHHH, AHHHHH, AHHHHH.

We can hear thomas begin to scramble

frightfully. The sound seems to be drawingnearer and nearer as thomas continues to

scramble, feeling along the walls. We can

hear his palms slapping and sliding alongthe rock and his feet slipping and splashingin the trickling water.

thomas. No! No! Keep it away!

Louder and louder, closer and closer, thesound comes.

thomas. Papa! Mama! Papa! Papa! Come getme, Papa!

Frantically he scrambles along as thesound seems to come closer and closer.

Suddenly, the boy slams into a wall andfalls to the ground, screaming and pound¬

ing his fists against the rocks. From some¬where, we hear a woman scream.

BLACKOUT

¦3

260 Drama

Act inFADE IN TO INT: THE TUNNEL

THOMAS pounds on the wall, screaming forhelp• He hears sheila's voice.

sheila. [VO] Thomas!

Suddenly, a wall slides up and thomas isface to face with sheila, who is standing inihe kitchen, just as surprised as thomas.thomas, out of breath, stumbles out of thetunnel, frightened and trembling.

CUT TO INT: THE KITCHEN—DAY

sheila embraces thomas as kenneth comes

near, looking on with curiosity.

sheila. Thomas! Are you all right, chile?

thomas. [finally catching his breath] Some-thin's in there, Mama. It ... it tried to

kill me.

sheila embraces him again, soothing himand trying to calm him down. Finally thom¬

as is calmed and sheila helps him to hisfeet. Regaining his breath, thomas beginsto speak.

thomas. Mama, it kept comin' at me. It was

gonna jump up an' kill me. I know it!

sheila. [soothingly] Shhh. Hush now.Nothin's after you an' nothin's gonna kill

you.

thomas. But

sheila. It's just an old passageway.

Walter comes running into the kitchen.

Walter. What happened? I heard shoutin'down here.

Walter looks toward the raised wall panel.

He smiles slightly.

Walter. Well, son, I see you found yourself asecret passage. Didn't figure you'd find thatfront door button so soon.

thomas, [somewhat disappointed] Youmean you knew?

Walter. If any unexpected guests came tothe front door, the slaves could hide in thistunnel till whoever it was had gone. Or, ifsomeone searched the house the slaves

could escape through here or by way of thefront steps.

thomas. [dejected] You shoulda told mey'all knew about that tunnel, Papa.

sheila, [embraces thomas] Almost everyroom in this house has some kind of secretthis or hidden that, Thomas.

thomas. [insistent] Mama, I heardsomethin' in there. Like sighin'. It kept com¬in' closer. An' Mama? It wasn't human. Itwasn't alive.

sheila looks at thomas for a moment, then

down into the dark of the passageway. Thelook in her eyes shows that she just mightbelieve some of what her son has to say.

sheila. Walter, maybe you better take alook.

Walter goes to a cabinet and takes a flash¬light from one of the drawers. He movestoward the passageway, thomas is about tofollow.

Walter. Stay here. I'll be right back.

thomas. But—

Walter. Oh, I'll be all right. I just wanna seewhat it was in here that really frightenedyou. That's all.

He checks the light to make sure it isworking, then proceeds into the passage¬way. sheila, thomas, and kenneth peer into

it after him. The light from the kitchenspills a few feet into the passageway, thengives way to complete darkness. Walter's

flashlight can be seen darting from here tothere along the ceiling of the tunnel, then


disappearing, sheila holds the two boysclose, all of themfacing the tunnel opening.

Kenneth, {frightened] Can't see nothin',Mama. Can't see nothin'.

sheila. Sssh, baby. It'll be all right. Papa's

just fine.

thomas looks at kenneth and sheila, thenback into the tunnel. There is no sound and

all is deathly silent for a few beats, whensuddenly a door slams, sheila and the boys

jump withfright. They spin around and seeWalter emerging from the hallway. His feetare muddy from the passageway and hetracks dirt all over the floor. Otherwise he isnone the worse for wear, sheila looks dis¬

pleased as she studies the muddy tracks onthe floor.

walteh. I put the stairs back in place.

sheila. Did you find anything?

Walter shakes his head, sheila gets a mop.

waiter goes over to a control lever by thecabinet and pulls it. The tunnel door shuts.

Walter. I'll take this whole thing apart to¬night. Seal that tunnel up once and for all.Fix the other entrance by the stairs, too.

thomas. There was some kids, too.

sheila. Kids? What kids? In the tunnel?

thomas. No, not in the tunnels, Mama. Outby the side of the house. Their names wasMac and Pesty, who is Mac's sister but nothis sister. See, it's like this—

sheila. Look, you can tell me all about it

while you and Kenneth help me clean allthis mud up off this floor. C'mon, now.

thomas and kenneth do as they are told.

Sheila turns and stares at the wall. Sheheaves a sigh and goes over to waiter.

sheila, [quietly] Walter, just what is goingon around here?

DISSOLVE TO EXT: THE HILLS IN BACK OF -THE HOUSE—LATE AFTERNOON|

thomas and his father are walking. In thedistance we can see the town and thecollege.

Walter. Those tunnels meander like a

maze. A person could get lost forever if theydon't know the way they're laid out.

thomas. Then how did the slaves know?

Walter. Well, they must've had a code.

A pause.

thomas. Papa?

walter. Yes, son?

thomas. You ever think that maybe that ol'house down there is haunted?

waiter laughs and hugs his son.

Walter. No. There's no such thing as

hauntin', boy. Everything has a logicalexplanation.

thomas. I keep rememberin' what that

foundation report said about that house. Itsaid that three slaves who were escapingand had hid out with Dies Drear were cap¬tured. Two were killed by some bounty hunt¬ers,1 and then Dies Drear himself got killedthat same week. Right there in our house.

But what happened to that third slave?

Walter. No one knows, son.

thomas. And it said that no one's lived in

that house since Dies Drear got killed, ex¬cept for a caretaker or two.

Walter. That's all true, son. But that has

very little to do with any ghosts.

thomas. But, what about that furniture

business in the house, then that noise in the

1. bounty hunters: People who captured fugitiveslaves for a reward of money, called "bounty."

264 Drama

tunnel . • • and that man on the road whenwe first came. How come he didn't greet us

friendly? What did Pesty mean when she^aid old Pluto would come up outa the"round an' grab you if you made him mad?

What's all that?

waWBR* Boy, you so fulla questions, it'shard to know which one to answer first. ButI u-iil tell you this. Your mamma an' I loveVou very much. An' I'll shake heaven and

earth before I let any harm come to one hairon top of your inquisitive little head. Okay?

Walter extends his hand, and thomas takes

it and shakes.

thomas. Okay.

thomas looks down the hill at the houseonce again.

thomas. Papa, can I stay up here just a littlebit? I wanna see if I can tell by the shape ofthe house where the secret rooms are.

Walter. I don't know, son. Dinner'll be

ready soon.

thomas. Please, Papa . . .

Walter, [thinks a moment] I guess it'll be allright. You just try to stay out of trouble. Itgets dark pretty quick up here in Ohio—notlike in the South. Okay?

thomas. Okay.

Walter. See you at dinner time, son.

Walter goes down the hill, thomas standswatching him. thomas walks over to a tree

and seats himself infront of it. He stares upat the leaves blowing gently in the breeze,then looks west toward the sun loweringitself toward the horizon. He leans backagainst the tree and relaxes.

thomas. Papa, someone was chasin' me.

thomas sits relaxed and looks out over thevalley.

DISSOLVE TO EXT: THE HILL—DUSK

The sky darkens rapidly, thomas startsand awakes. He jumps to his feet. He is stiffand cold. A light wind blows, rustling theleaves. He looks down the hill and can see

the lights on in his home. He begins walk¬ing home. As he is about to descend, he

stops. He hears a noise, the same sound heheard in the tunnel. He turns and ascends

the hill, moving in the direction of thesound.

QUICK DISSOLVE TO EXT: THE HILL—DUSK

The eerie sound is almost hypnotic as itdraws the boy to it. He ascends the hill,arriving at its summit. Now the soundseems to be comingfrom somewhere on the

other side of the hill. He goes to investigate.

QUICK DISSOLVE TO EXT: THE OTHERSIDE OF THE HILL—DUSK

thomas moves as quietly as possible on abed of dead leaves, listening carefully as hedescends the hill.

QUICK DISSOLVE TO EXT: THE HILL—DUSK

thomas reaches a point near the bottom ofthe hill when he suddenly realizes he is nolonger on a bed of leaves but what soundsand feels like a wooden platform. He gasps.Suddenly, the platform begins to rise.thomas quickly jumps to the ground,crouching down to see what is going on. He

can see a bright light emanating from be¬low the platform. The "aaaaaahhhhhhing"sound continues. The bright light is aneerie orange and red, tinting the trees

above.

Suddenly, rising out of the light andsmoke is a huge head with a large mane ofhair tinted red and orange by the light ofthe fire below. The head is fully beardedand the eyes are piercing. The huge headsits atop massive shoulders and thomas


WISDOMJoseph HolstonVargas and Associates

can see two huge thickly muscled arms.thomas does not know it, but he is face to

face with pluto.

pluto. [bellowing] What demon walks onPluto's house?

thomas. Aaaaiiiieeeee!!

thomas leaps to his feet and begins to run,with the huge man hot on his trail. As he

266 Drama

breaks through the thick underbrush, the .boy falls and pluto is upon him, lifting him^high into the air with one strong arm. Asthomas, held high in the air, struggles tobreak free, the huge man laughs with a

snarl.oi- , •

pluto. You little kids think you can scare olT ,>|Pluto outa his wits with your sneakin ~around, eh? Well, who's scared, now?!

Who's scared now?! You-wanna see Pluto's

hole in the ground? I'm gonna give you a real

close look!

thoMAS. No! No! You the Devil! TheDevilllll!-'"

pllito laughs uproariously, whichfrightensthoMAS even more, pluto drapes a hugearm around the boy and holds him close ashe attempts to carry him back, thomasquickly gives him an elbow to the solarplexus2—when he hears the loud gruntandjeels himself dropped to the ground, hescrambles to his feet and Jlees towardhome. Behind him he can hear the loud

breathing and heavy footsteps of plutogaining on him. Half-screaming and half-crying, he runs as hard and as fast as hecan, moving ever closer to his home.

CUT TO INT: THE KITCHEN—DUSK

sheila has just finished preparing dinnerand kenneth and Walter are seating them¬selves at the table.

sheila. Walter, call that boy one more time,please. I don't want him missin' his meals.

walter. Relax, I'm sure he'll get here.

Just then, thomas crashes through the rearscreen door, breaking the lock, trips overthe threshold, slides across the linoleum onhis stomach, and crashes into the kitchentable, knocking dishes to the floor andsmashing them. He lies under the table,trying to get his breath. The entire family ismomentarily shocked, but Walter quicklypulls thomas to his feet and looks into theboy's face, thomas, breathing hard, saysnothing, but looks wide-eyed toward thedoor, kenneth begins crying, sheila runs tothomas.

2. solar plexus (so' Isr pleks' as) n.: The area of thebelly just below the breastbone.

Walter. Thomas? Thomas, speak to me.What is it?

Suddenly, kenneth screams and thomaspoints to the door, sheila and Walter turnand are greeted by the huge specter ofpluto, standing by the damaged screendoor, his hugeframe blotting out the night.

Act IYFADE IN TO INT: THE KITCHEN—NIGHT

The SMALLfamily stares at pluto. He looksat them a moment, then steps over thethreshold in a cold but courteous manneras sheila moves forward to greet him, herhand outstretched, waiter is just behindher, studying pluto intently. There is some¬thing "uncountry" about him. His mannerseems too polished, even as he stands say¬ing absolutely nothing. He is a very largeman with dark brown skinframed by whitehair and a beard. His large green eyescontrast sharply with the brown of his skinand the white of his hair. On his hands area pair of new, heavy hide gloves, which henever removes while in their presence.pluto looks past mrs. small to walter.Their eyes meet and hold.

pluto. Mr. Small.

walter. Mr. Pluto.

His eyes again fall on sheila, who extendsher hand again.

sheila., I'm Sheila Small.

He shakes her hand, then retreats back tothe threshold of the door, where there is theleast light, sheila turns toward thomas.

sheila. . . . and this is Thomas, our son.

pluto lets his gaze fall on thomas, sendinga shudder through the boy's entire body.


pluto. I'm sorry. . . . Guess I mistook your

boy. . . . Strangers always pokin' aroun', up

to no good. ... I thought your boy was one,

so I gave chase.

walter moves to q different angle, trying toget a better look at pluto. pluto stares athim, but avoids small's gaze whenever it

appears that they will make eye contact.

Walter. I want to thank you for takin' care

of things. Saved me a lot of time and energyfixin' the furniture and rooms the way you

did.

sheila. Yes, it must've been a little difficult

for a man your age alone.

pluto. I did just fine, Ma'am. The van camewith the furniture at the start of the week, soI just took my time. Hope everything was allright.

sheila. Couldn'a been better. Thank you.

pluto smiles a thank you. Walter moves a

little closer to pluto. pluto steps furtherback into the darkness, so that he is almostoutside the house. He stands in the door¬

way clenching and unclenching his glovedhands, nervously. Suddenly, Walterchanges the subject, catching pluto totallyoff guard.

Walter. How're those horses of yours doin'?

The black and the bay?

The question startles pluto. thomas and

sheila are also surprised when they hear

the question.

thomas. [thinking of pesty and mac and theblack horse] Horses?

Walter gives him a stare and thomas again

falls silent.

pluto. Uh . . . er . .

in' on their shoes.

they're fine. I'm work-

pluto. The bay's all right, but I had to .hobble that black. He's got the chill, but he jwon't stay still. Tries to run all night to get "away from it, so I got to hobble him; tie hisfeet to keep him from burstin' his heart wideopen.

thomas listens much more closely now.

Walter. That's kinda odd, isn't it, Mr. Plu¬

to? I mean, the black horse havin' simplefever like that? That's a disease I thoughtpeculiar only to horses with lighter coats,like grays or whites.

pluto tightens his jaw a little nervously.

pluto. [evasive] Yea, well. ...

Now he can see that the eyes of the entiresmall family are on him and he shifts hisweight nervously.

pluto. . . . see, if it was just a heat problem,say like the kinda heat they have in India, itwouldna hurt the black, but see, it wasn't

the heat. It was nervous shock.

walter is incredulous. He succeeds in hid-

ing it from everyone but thomas, who iswatching him intently.*

Walter. Never knew nervousness could acton a horse's heat centers, Mr. Pluto.

pluto becomes quite agitated now.

pluto. Ain't nervousness. I said, "nervous

shock." By haunted things no livin' thingoughta have the unhappiness to set eyes on.

thomas. [whispering] Papa, ghosts! He'stalkin' 'bout ghosts!

Walter takes a step toward pluto. pluto, a

bit agitated, begins talking fast.

A stern glare from waiter silences thomas. jWhen the boy looks toward pluto, he sees a ^faint trace of amusement cross the old 2man's face, then fade away. Walter does jnot notice it.

Walter. Thomas, here, told my wife 'bout,meetin' two children, one of 'em a girl;

268 Drama

iarned Pesty, who was ridin' a black horse.

Since she said she was your helper, I got theinipression the horse belonged to you. Andthat horse had no limp. It was in good

health.

There is a long silence as pluto studies theentire family and they, him. Everyone inihe room is aware that Walter is trying to

irap pluto in a lie, but pluto maintains hiscomposure, seeming not to even considerthat mr. small had raised the possibility hemight be lying.

pluto. Ifondly] Pesty . . . yes . . . she can domore with a wild animal than any child heratje ought to be able to do with anything.

Walter, [becoming angry] You mean to saya young girl like that could unhobble atiorse—a full-grown quarter horse3 suffer¬

ing from simple fever?

pluto studies him a moment.

pluto. No. I mean to say Pesty can ride thatblack anytime. Anytime at all, so long as it's

day. But once it gets night, that horse getsl he fever of nervous shock. So I haveta hob¬ble him so he won't burst his heart withrunnin'.

Walter comes as close to pluto as he dares.

pluto stands his ground, clenching andunclenching his fists. Walter studies theman, seeming to look for something.

Walter. What you say makes no sense,atall!

pluto. [angrily] Sense?! [then, much more¦sadly] Sense. . . .

His eyes fall on sheila and the boys. Agentleness comes over his face, then thatlook of amusement. His eyes drift upwardtoward the ceiling, and he speaks in a kind

3. quarter horse: A lightweight, muscular horse,usually of a dark color, known for its quick reactions.

of chant that sounds old and worn, likehistory.

pluto. When hoot owl screeching,

Westward flies,Gauge the sun ...

Look to Dies,

And run. . . .

mr. small steps forward, but now the oldman is backing out the door, away from thekitchen light and into the darkness outside.Hisfootsteps are not heard on the veranda.The darkness seems to have engulfed him.

He is gone. There is a pause before thomas

speaks.

thomas. Papa, I couldn't even hear his foot¬

steps. It's like he just disappeared. Poof! Jus'

like that.

Walter. Thomas, you know that's impossi¬

ble. I taught you much better than that.

thomas. Yes, sir.

sheila. Well... he seems nice enough, buthe's so strange.

Walter. Yes, a little too strange. India! In¬

dia! Now, whoever heard of anything soridiculous!

sheila. I guess he didn't realize we come

from farm country, too. Must've thought we

were from the city.

Walter. There's somethin' about that man

that's not right. I just can't figure it, butsomethin's not right.

sheila. Well, you try and figure it out while Iget Kenneth ready for bed.

Kenneth. Aw, Mama, I'm not sleepy.

sheila. I don't want to hear it, Kenneth.

Upstairs, right now, and Thomas, you hitthe sack in one half hour. We have to get upearly if we're going to get to church tomor¬row. One half hour, young man.


thomas. Yes, Ma'am.

Kenneth whines a bit, but sheila ushers

him out. Walter begins repairing the bro¬ken door hinges made unserviceable when

thomas crashed through the door.

Walter. I'll just have to fix it so it'll hold till Ican get into town and buy a new lock . . .hmph . . . maybe two or three locks, judgin'

from the goin's on around here.

thomas. That sure was a scary little poemhe recited. An' all that talk about his horseseein' things too awful to think about.

Walter. An' that's all it was, too. Talk!

thomas. Him comin' up outa the ground the

way he did, just the way Pesty said he would;an' talkin' the way he does, makes me a little

scared of him, Papa.

Walter. It's all right, Thomas. But keep inmind that he's just a quaint ol' man. He's no

one to be scared of.

thomas. Papa, how come he kept his gloves

on?

Walter. I guess he did it 'cause he mightaburned his hand, or somethin' an' didn't

want us to see the wound.

thomas. Back when we was ridin' in the

car ...

sheila enters the room.

sheila, [correcting] When we were riding inthe car. . . .

thomas. Yes, ma'am... well, anyway,

Papa, you said he had a limp, and I didn't seehim limping.

Walter. To tell you the truth, I didn't evennotice. Maybe his leg felt better, or some-thin', I don't know. But I do know he has

a limp.

sheila. He seemed a little sad . . . lonely,

even.

Walter. Well, that old man is history. He'sas tied to this land as those slaves were irj^the days of Dies Drear, and he chooses tolstay here, caught between the past and the";present.

thomas. But why, Papa? Why?

Walter says nothing as he stands at the \screen door peering out into the night, jthomas moves beside his father and stares •out into the darkness. In the distance we ^can hear the baleful howling of a dog. ^sheila shivers and moves near waiter and '

thomas.i

DISSOLVE TO INT: THOMAS ANDKENNETH'S BEDROOM—NIGHT

Kenneth lies in bed asleep, but thomas is [wide awake in his bed staring at the ceil- jing. After a moment, some shadows appear'!on the ceiling, thomas rises and goes to^check the huge closets in the room. No one ;is hiding there. He shudders a bit. The -

shadows seem to come from trees outside. |thomas takes his pillow, blanket, and sheet]and crosses to kenneth..-$1

thomas. Kenneth, I'm goin' downstairs to j

the parlor. That way, if anybody tries to*sneak into the house I'll see them an' I can '

run upstairs an' warn the family. Okay? ii

kenneth does not answer. The boy is sound

asleep and breathing very heavily. He iturns toward the wall at the sound ofthomas's voice, thomas goes out of the^

bedroom.i

CUT TO INT: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY-NIGHT

thomas movesfrom his bedroom and down .

a flight of stairs.- f.J-4

A dim light has been left on in the hall and^

CUT TO INT: DOWNSTAIRSHALLWAY—NIGHT

270 Drama

[f uiuTninates Thomas's way. At the en¬

trance to the parlor, just beyond the oakdoor, is cl large and ornate mirror, thomas

poses in front of the mirror, studying his(iraoe demeanor, and silently praising him¬self for his courageous bearing. He strikesa few brave poses. He moves from themirror, through the oak door, and into the

parlor.

t-LT TO INT: THE PARLOR—NIGHT

Once inside, thomas makes his way to the

sofa. He makes his bed. As he stares

through the large bay windows into thenight, his eyes become heavy. He lies

down, and soon is sound asleep. In thedistance we can hear water dripping in thekitchen, but other than that there is nosound. The camera dollies from thomas

across the parlor to the entrance andthrough the door into the hall.

CUT TO INT: THE HALL—NIGHT ,

Camera moves from the oak door to themirror. The mirror opens silently and ashadowy, shrouded figure emerges. Themirror closes soundlessly behind it The

figure moves like a cat in the darkness andascends the stairs.

CUT TO INT: TOP OF THE STAIRS—NIGHT

the backroomsuilbert Fletcher\ ,,//<•( lion of Joyce Johnson

At the top of the stairs, the figure pausesand studies the hall and bedrooms that liebefore it Now it moves to the boys' bed¬room and enters.

CUT TO INT: BOYS' BEDROOM—NIGHT

The shape moves to where Kenneth liesasleep. Light from the moon outside shinesthrough the windows, and we can see that

the shape holds some metallic things in itshand. Turning, it exits the room, still hold¬ing the sharp objects.

CUT TO INT: UPSTAIRS HALLWAY—NIGHT

The figure moves across the hallway, thenturns again and heads silently back downthe stairs.

CUT TO INT: THE PARLOR—NIGHT

The figure comes into the parlor and creepsup to thomas. The boy turns in his sleepand the shadow moves away.

CUT TO INT: DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY—NIGHT

The figure comes back to the mirror, listensintently, opens the mirror, and disappearsbehind it. The mirror closes.

CUT TO INT: THE PARLOR—NIGHT

Suddenly, thomas awakes with a start. He

looks about, anxious and confused, but all

he can hear is the water dripping in thekitchen, and all he can see outside is themisty darkness. He lies back down, hiseyes wide and searching.

BLACKOUT

Act Y

FADE INTO INT: THE PARLOR—DAY

The early morning sun breaks through the

windows andfalls on thomas'sface,forcinghim to wake involuntarily.

He sits up, rubs his eyes, and yawns.He squints into the sun then stands,stretching once more. He notices fresh un¬

derwear and his new Sunday suit lyingacross thefootofthe couch. A note from hismother is pinned to the dress shirt It reads,"You are to wear these clothes to church

today." thomas smiles, gathers up the

shirt, suit, and his shoes, and wanderstoward the stairs leading to the second

floor.

CUT TO INT: THE STAIRS—DAY

As he looks up the stairs, he can see hisfamily, dressed for church, at the top of thelanding. They seem to be studying somethings in Walter's hand very closely. From

the bottom of the stairs, they appear to bemetallic. Walter is sitting on the top stepwith sheila next to him and kenneth standsbehind them, thomas climbs the stairs.

thomas. Morning.

The family is so engrossed in what they aredoing that they can only mumble a reply.THOMAS finally joins them.

thomas. Say, what's those?

sheila. Oh, this chile's English is so bad.What are those?

Walter. They're triangles, son.

Walter places three metal triangles on thefloor. Thomas's eyes grow wide with curios¬ity and amazement.

sheila. Each one exactly alike. See here, the

two legs that make up the right angles oneach of them are made of wood.

Walter. A hard wood, like oak. The surfacebetween the legs looks like tin.

sheila. What's it all mean?

Walter. We'll find out in a minute.

272 Drama

Walter begins to fit the triangles together,trying to see if he can find a pattern.

wat-ter. If this is supposed to be a square,[hen there's one triangle missing. Why?Where is it?

sheila. Walter, look . . .

sheila traces her finger along the edges of aioooden area where the triangles are joined

together.

sheila. . . . see, it's a cross.

Walter. A Greek cross4 . . . but, why?

sheila. One thing's certain, Walter. If there

is to be a fourth triangle, it'll turn up . . . the

same way as these three. But I hope itdoesn't.

thomas. How'd these turn up, Mama?

sheila. We found them stuck in the door

frames of our bedrooms when we got up this

morning.

thomas. What? Then that means . . .

sheila, [tense] It means someone slipped into this house last night while we wereasleep.

thomas. But all the doors were locked,

Mama.

Walter. We know.

They all look at one another.

thomas. [quietly] Old Pluto's secondwarning.

Walter. Thomas ...

thomas. Papa, doncha see? First was theway he fixed the furniture downstairs in theparlor, so it was all pointin' out toward those

big bay windows. Telling us to go! To get out!Now this!

4. Greek cross: A cross with four equal arms atright angles.

Walter. Boy, you lettin' your imaginationget the best of you.

thomas. Papa, Old Man Pluto means for usto run from here. Run, while there's still

time.

Kenneth, \frightened] Noooooooooooo!

Kenneth Jlees into his bedroom and slamsthe door behind him.

sheila. Now you've gone an' done it.

She gets up and runs after kenneth. Walterlooks at his son.

WALTER. Thomas?

thomas. Sir?

Walter. Can I trust you with somethin' and

have you keep quiet about it? I don't wantyour mother to haveta worry.

A chill runs down Thomas's spine.

thomas. You can trust me, Papa.

Walter. Good. All these events prob'ly don't

mean much at all. But then again, maybethey do. It looks like someone really is tryingto drive us out. Things get worse, we mayhaveta call the police.

thomas. The police—?!

Walter. Sssshh! You an' me gon' set upwatch. Midnight to five a.m. I'll take threehours, and you take the two from midnightto two A.M.

thomas. I can stay awake the three hours,Papa. I'm strong. I can do it.

Walter. If I can figure things out soonenough, we may not have to do anythingat all.

sheila. [OC] Hey, you two ready for church?

waiter gathers up the triangles and getsto his feet. He walks down the stairs as


thomas watches him. A shiver comes over

thomas as he gazes about the house.

thomas. Old house, I won't let you or that

old man scare us away. We'll beatcha. You

can count on that.

DISSOLVE TO EXT: MT. CALVARYCHURCH—DAY

A white frame structure, one story tall andabout one hundred years old. Parishioners,

dressed in their Sunday finery, file insideas the smalls drive up in their car. The

family gets out of the car and is walkingtoward the church when thomas spies

something.

ATTENDINQ CHURCH, 1989Arthur DawsonCourtesy of the Artist

thomas. Papa, look!

The family looks in the direction thomas'L-points. Coming up the road toward the^Mchurch is a nineteenth-century vtntage^Mbuggy drawn by two horses—one black 'Mand one bay. The black horse is the one otTlliwhich pesty rode earlier, pluto, wearing'IHan old stovepipe hat5 and a huge, though iiworn, black cape, drives the horses. He'Hialso wears a white shirt and d black string'ssf§tie. pesty rides beside him, wearing a pink Iftulle6 dress and a blue polka-dot bonnet"^1

5.stovepipe hat: A man's tall silk hat.ilsllf6.tulle (tool) n.: A thin, fine netting of silk or otherfabric.ih.'iM

r ims¦<e.WSr.

gelow pink stockings she wears white,high-button shoes. Unlike pluto, who is anT\-act replica of a nineteenth-century man,pESTY has accented her attire with some¦cncessions to twentieth-century tastes, so

(hat her combined costume has a unique

Other-worldly look to it.

THOMAS. Mama, Papa, those horses—

^vlter. I know, son. I know. . . .

sheila draws kenneth close to her as the

buggy comes near, pluto looks different. Heis cheerful enough, but looks stooped and

older.

Walter, [in a low voice] Where'd he put histfloves? I thought sure he had burned hishands.

sheila, [to walter] Those clothes! A bonnet,no less. Where'd she find that?

The buggy comes to a halt. The smallfamily approaches the buggy. They aretense, pluto smiles broadly.

pluto. Morning, folks!

The pleasant manner catches the small

family totally by surprise.

walter. [quietly} Good mornin', Mr. Pluto.

pluto. Nice to see you all out this fineSunday.

sheila, [pointedly] And we're glad to behere so you could see us, Mr. Pluto.

pluto. That so? I hope you all slept well lastnight?

thomas studies the old man closely. Thereseems to be no sinister intent in his voice.

The boy turns his gaze to his father tomeasure his reply.

Walter. Yep. Slept just fine.

pluto. Well, y'all enjoy. Hear?

pluto starts up the team, pesty waves tothomas.

pesty. [teasingly] Hi, Thomas Small, thenew boy. How ya like my new dress?

thomas. It's nice. Where'd ya get it?

pesty. Oh, I got it. . .

Her answer is drowned out in the sound ofthe buggy and horses hurrying off to parkaround the rear entrance of the church.

sheila. Now, that has to be just about themost unusual sight that I've seen in a longtime.

Walter, [half to himself] Like a visionstraight out of the time of Dies Drearhimself.

thomas. Say what, Papa?

Walter. Oh . . . uh . . . nothin'. C'mon,

let's get inside.

The SMALhfamily goes into the church.

LAP DISSOLVE TO INT: THE CHURCH—DAY

The pastor,flanked by two young pastors,sits on the church platform. In back of himis the choir. The lead singer is pesty. Shehas a voice like an angel and is singing thegospel hymn "There Must Be a God Some¬where." thomas is shocked to see pesty

singing, but even more surprised to see mac

playing the organ, and playing it well.

pesty. [singing] "Over my head, I hearmusic in the air

Up above my head, I see trouble in the airI knowThere must be a God somewhere . . ."

As the hymn continues, thomas begins tostudy the faces of the congregation. Thefaces seem gentle enough; average, justlike in North Carolina. The boy stiffens. Hiseyes have fallen upon those of old pluto.


CUT TO INT: THE CHURCH—DAY.CLOSE-UP ON PLUTO

pluto sits staring at the small family, thenturns away.

CUT TO INT: THE CHURCH—DAY.CLOSE-UP ON THOMAS

thomas swallows hard, then looks else¬

where as pesty's singing continues.

CUT TO INT: THE CHURCH—THOMAS'SPOV. FOUR-SHOT—THE DARROWS—DAY

Four huge men with caramel-colored skinand scowls on their faces sit in a pewtoward the rear. They stare with hatred intheir eyes at thomas and his family. Theyare river lewis, the father, in his earlysixties; wilbur, the eldest son, about the

same age as walter small; river ross,

about a year younger; and russell, in hislate twenties.

CUT TO INT: THE CHURCH—DAY.TWO-SHOT—THOMAS AND WALTER

Walter. Thomas, turn around.

thomas. But, Papa . . .

Walter. I know. I saw them.

thomas turns around. He can still see pluto

staring and he can feel the eyes of thedarrows.

pesty. [singing]"! know there must be a Godsomewhere ..."

DISSOLVE TO EXT: CHURCHYARD—DAY

The smalls walk toward their car.

thomas. One of them was that man on theroad, Papa.

Walter. Shhh. Their name's Darrow. The

pastor told me about them.

thomas. They're Mac's people?

sheila. It looks that way, Thomas.^

thomas. Why were they starin' at us so 2hard?

The smalls get into their car and ride 'away.

'5

CUT TO EXT: THE CHURCHYARD—fTHOMAS'S POV—DAY|

i

The car passes near a large tree in front of 1the church. The darrows, now including 1mac, still in his choir robes, move around in :

front of the tree and watch the disappear- Jing car.;

river lewis. So that's them, huh?

mac. Yes, Daddy. They're nice folks, too.

river lewis. I ain't asked you that.

wilbur. Whatcha think, Daddy?

river lewis. They prob'ly in with that old ;fool. That's prob'ly how they got that house, j

river ross. What we gon' do?

river lewis. Never you mind. I'm gonnahandle that end of it personally. Mac, what- ?chu found out from Pesty 'bout old Pluto?

mac. Daddy, you know she won't tell me athing. Never has. She so closed-mouth aboutit all.

river lewis. Well, you just keep your eye onher. Hear?

mac. Daddy, I don't like this spyin' on myown sister, an' besides, those folks down

there seem nice enough. They even got a boymy age and—

river lewis slaps him.

river lewis. Just da like I tells ya, an' stoprunnin' off at the mouth. As for that familythere, I'll make them sorry they ever set footin the House of Dies Drear.

BLACKOUT

276 Drama

Act VIFADE INTO EXT: THE COLLEGE CAMPUS—

day

The main campus is a quadrangle1 aboutone quarter of a mile long, bordered on allsides by a combination of new and oldbuildings and oak trees. At the eastern endof [he quadrangle is the oldest and tallestbuilding on tHe\ca.rjipus, a six-story struc¬

ture. It is characterized by six towers, eachanth a turret2 ai'the top. The SMALhJamily'scar enters the campus and comes to a haltin front of the main building. The familygets out.

sheila. Looks kinda like North Carolina A &T, back home, Walter.

Walter. Hmm . . . yea . . . kind of. This is

the main building. My office is in that lefttower, right up there.

kenneth shades his eyes from the sun andlooks upward.

kenneth. Oooo, that's way up there.

Walter looks at thomas a moment, thomas

is looking at the ground, kicking the dirtwith his shoe.

Walter. Thomas, why don't you come onupstairs an' let me show you my office.

thomas. [shrugging] I don't care.

Walter. Sheila, how 'bout you an' Kenneth?

sheila. Is there an elevator?

Walter. It's bein' repaired. We'll havetawalk.

sheila. No, thank you. Kenneth and I'll stay

1.quadrangle (kwa' drarj' gal) n.: An area, as of acollege campus, surrounded on Its four sides bybuildings.2.turret (ter' it) n.: A small tower on top of a largertower.

down here and enjoy the shade of one ofthese trees.

Walter. Okay. But I'll getcha up there soon.

sheila. Only when they got that elevatorworkin', honey.

thomas and Walter walk to the entrance ofthe building, thomas has his head bowedand his hands thrust deeply into his pock¬ets. waiter puts his arm around his son.

CUT TO INT: THE OFFICE—DAY

Walter's office is a cramped circular space

lit by an overhead fluorescent light. In thebackground are filing cabinets, d typewrit¬er, a bookshelf crammed with books, and

various papers scattered about. The officelooks well used, even though Walter has

only been in it two days. Walter opens thedoor with a key.

Walter. This is a pretty cool place in thesummer. The ivy covers up the windows,

keeping the moisture close and the sunlightout. But come winter I expect I'll freeze.

thomas. Papa, you mean there's no heat?

Walter. Not in these towers.

thomas. Shoot, these northern colleges aresomethin'! No heat.

Walter. Whatchu haveta understand, son,is that this buildin' is history. It's much thesame as it was a hundred years ago. Nothin'

much changes in places like these. They givea man time to think and study.

thomas. Aw, Papa, sometimes I wish histo¬

ry would just die! How come you alwayshaveta have history clutter up everything?!How is it you always know to go someplacewhere you don't ever haveta change?

thomas goes and slumps down into a chair..Walter looks at him.


Walter, [watches him a momentJ What isit, Thomas? What've I done that's made you

so mad?

thomas. Papa, I want to go home to Great-grandmother!

Walter. Oh, I see . . . you miss her a lot,

don't you?

thoihas. At least I knew I belonged there.

Walter. I'm sorry she wouldn't come with

us, Thomas. But. . . well, she has the rightto end where she began.

thomas. Everything was warm and goodwith her. Here in this North, we ain't had

but one bad time after another. That oldman don't like us. Those Darrows hate us.

We hardly see anybody or talk to anybody.Even that house hates us. I wanna go home!I wanna go back to Great-grandmother andNorth Carolina!

Walter comes near and puts his armsaround him.

Walter. Thomas, listen to me. Trust me.There are good people here, an' we'll meetthem. Just give the town time.

thomas. Yea, but will the town give metime?

thomas rises and moves toward the door.

Something catches his eye. He moves to thebookcase and bends down to get a betterlook.

thomas. [softly] Papa? They got in here too.

thomas stands up and faces Walter. He isholding another triangle in his hand. It isidentical to the others that were found thatmorning.

CUT TO EXT: XENIA AVENUE IN YELLOWSPRINGS—DAY

The small family sits in a car looking to¬ward the locksmith's store. There is a

"Closed on Sunday" sign visible. Next door^fsllis a drugstore. We can see Walter insidei§llftalking to the druggist. He is pointing doion"^'the street Walter is nodding his head and*f$$.-looking in the direction the man is pointing. ''"WiHe smiles, says thank you, and rushes out. WHe jumps into the car.- -'4^

CUT TO INT: THE CAR—DAY-• ,

The car speeds off; thomas and Kenneth "are in the back seat, kenneth is watchingthe scenery and thomas is listening to theconversation between Walter and sheila.

Walter. He said there's a fella named Carr,

who owns a gas station out here on Highway68, who's a kind of handyman, an' he mightbe able to help us out with some locks forthat kitchen door.i

sheila. Thank heavens. I'll sleep a lot better jtonight knowin' that door has a lock on it. j

thomas. Better make that two or three jlocks, Papa.j

Walter. You said it, son. This time we'll beready for them.

CUT TO EXT: XENIA AVENUE ANDHIGHWAY 68—DAY

The car comes to a halt at the Carr gas

station. It is big, modern, and very clean.edgar carr, a big, athletic-looking white

man of about forty, approaches. He has akind, soft face that breaks into an easy grin.His long hair is all over the place and he isstarting to grow a beard, which he scratch¬es with regularity. He wears coveralls overa white T-shirt and a wristwatch.

Walter. Afternoon. Walter Small's the

name. We just moved up to the old DiesDrear place. I need some locks installed. The

druggist told me you might be able to help.

carr. I sure can. But I won't be able to put

'em in till Monday. Will Monday do?

280 Drama

The entire small family is dejected at thisnews.

Walter. It'll haveta do, I guess.

carr extends his hand.

carr. By the way. The name's Edgar Carr.

Walter shakes his hand, carr looks into thecar and waves to sheila and the boys. Theysmile a hello.

Walter. Think you can make it early Mon¬day morning?

carr. [curious, intent] You have some trou¬ble out there, or somethin'?

Walter. No, nothin' like that. My son, here,had a little accident. That's all.

carr. The old Dies Drear place, huh? Been

years since anybody lived up that way, youknow ... I mean, except for old Pluto.

Walter. [evasive] Well, I wanted a placewith plenty of space for my boys, an' Ithought I might do a little farmin'.

carr. Real fertile land up there. I shouldknow. My dad's farm is next to the same

stream that runs on your place.

Walter, [impatient to leave] Is that a fact?

carr. [to thomas] Say, young fella, you likeberries?

thomas. Sure.

carr. In that case, come on out to my dad's

anytime an' pick all you want. We get plentyof 'em.

waiter looks to sheila, tries to start theengine to ease away.

carr. Then there's the Darrow spreadnearby.

walter shuts off the engine, thomas leansforward. Walter gets out of the car.

Walter. Did you say Darrow?

carr. Oh, you know them?

Walter. Kind of.

carr. Except for my dad's place, they own%all the property that surrounds yours. Right ^4mean bunch when they want to be. Keep"botherin' that old Pluto somethin' awful. iS

Walter. Pluto never said anythin' to me'bout it.^ , ; *

carr. Always been bad blood between old'Pluto an' the Darrows. Goes back to the^

Darrows' grandaddy, River Swift, who died'years ago. He an' old Pluto used to be-friends, but they had a fallin' out. Over?what, I don't know. j

Walter. Well, I don't expect I'll be seein'

that much of the Darrows, anyway.^

carr. I reckon not. They can stay out on 'that farm of theirs for six, seven months at a ^"5time without folks seein' 'em. Always dig^m'up trees an' puttin' 'em back.^

Walter. Trees?

carr. Heck, an' that ain't all. When old

River Swift Darrow was alive, he an' his kinmoved their whole house a few feet to oneside and spent a week lookin' under it for .'Itfsomethin', then moved it back to where itwas in the first place.

edgar carr chuckles at the thought andwipes the perspiration from his face. i -i-'

Walter. Thank you for the information.S'lP

carr. You're welcome. Just watch yourself jgjwith them Darrows. They don't like folkshangin' around. The youngest boy, Mac, ^;jdon't seem too much like 'em, though.

He's about your boy's age. Maybe they'rechangin'.'" r- i

Walter has gotten back in the car and has 11

started up the engine, carr cr ckles againand wipes away the sweat.

CARR. Still in all, watch 'em clc e. They gotsomethin in for that old Plut*'=, Ybu takecare.

carr backs away and walter drives off.thomas watches him from the back win¬

dow, and smiles and waves, carr wavesback.

CUT to int: the car—day

sheila. I wonder what the Darrows werelooking for with so much digging?

thomas. They're prob'ly people who just

like to tear stuff up just to be tearing it up.

Walter. I m sure there's more to it thanthat, Thomas.

sheila. There must be some kind of feudgoing on. Why else would those Darrowskeep after that poor old man so much?

thomas. And now they're after us.

walter. Is that what you think, Thomas, orwhat you know?

thomas. Papa, the only thing I know is thatMr. Carr is one of the best things that'shappened since we got here.

thomas looks out the rear window back at

the quickly disappearing gas station andsmiles.

CUT TO int: the kitchen—the houseOF dies drear—dusk

The entire family stands at the entrance ofthe kitchen agape at what they see. sheilascreams, thomas goes to her. kenneth takeshold of her dress, sheila sways and leansagainst thomas. walter walks ahead to

survey a kitchen in shambles. The large'sac?c 0~ffloar pluto brought them has been

em-ptied all over the floor in an even layer.

Over the flour, water and apple juice havebeen poured. The whole mess has been

mixed into a sticky brown paste that hasbeen spread over the kitchen table, stove,

chairs, and cabinets. The door of the refrig¬

erator hangs open, and all of the food insidehas been removed; some of it is dumped onthe floor. All of the dishes have beensmashed in the sink and covered with goo.

o ingfood is visible everywhere, thomassteps forward. walter stops him.

walter. No. [sheila comes to his side.] Theymean to make us run. That's why they did

sheila. Oh, Walter—we could move intotown, where it's safe.

walter. Is that all we're made of? We won't

be runnin'. We're better than that. This is

our ome . . . our life. No one is gonna scare

us outa it, an' no one is gonna take it fromus, either. I've had enough! [He turns to

thomas.J Thomas, I want you to come with

™e' ^na' take Kenneth upstairs, turn onhe lights, and lock yourself in with him.

Stay here till we get back.

cut to ext.- the house—dusk

walter and thomas exit the house andegin walking up the hill in back of the

house, armed with clubs and a flashlight.

cut to int: the boys' bedroom—dusk

CZose-up on sheila as she sits still anddetermined, watching over the sleeping

form of her son kenneth. She stares out of

the window at the flashlight that signalsthe progress of Walter and thomas, with abaseball bat resting delicately in her lap.

cut to ext: hill behind the house ofdies drear—night

The flashlight lighting their way, walterand thomas reach the base of the hill.

The Mouse of niw

wv. 11 gv diuuiiu. i uuxi l want to iaKe

a chance on walking on top of that platformlike you did the other night.

They move around the base of the hillfromleft to right They move silently through thedarkness, waiter in front and thomas be¬

hind. Presently, they come to a point in thethick underbrush where a light can be dis¬cerned, glowing somewhere in the dis¬

tance. It seems near. Walter douses his

flashlight and signals thomas to remainsilent They keepforward. THOMASfalls androlls down a gully.3 Walter helps him to hisfeet, thomas whispers that he is all right andthey move forward toward the dim light.Finally, they come to a clearing where thepale glowing light shines brightest. Theycan see a bed of flat rock, rectangular inshape, at the end of which is a cave. The cavemouth has heavy plank doors with sconceson either side, which contain burning torch¬

es. These torches flare violently, sendingsmoke and a yellow glow up into the sur¬rounding trees.

In the midst of it all, pacing back andforth, is pluto. He now seems younger,healthier than before. His gloves are on

again, and he smokes a cigarette. He is notaware that they are watching him. thomaswatches him intently with a mixture of fearand curiosity. Suddenly, his father bursts

forward from the bush and approachespluto.

Walter. Hold it right there, Pluto!

pluto swings around and spies thomas andwalter. His face is partially shadowed be¬cause the torches are directly above him.He backs toward the cave.

waiter. Wait!

3. gully (gul' e) n.: A channel or hollow worn in theground by running water.

284 Drama

pluto quickly disappears into the cave in aflash. Walter and thomas rush to the cave,waiter taking one of the torches.

CUT TO INT: THE CAVE—NIGHT

HARRIET TUBMAN SERIES NO. 11, 1939-40Jacob Lawrence

Hampton Uniuerslty Museum, Hampton, Virginia

With the torch lighting their way, they enter thomas. He's got his gloves on again an' hea dark tunnel similar to the one in which was smokin' a cigarette.

thomas became temporarily lost As theymove forward, thomas catches up to his Walter, [a hard edge in his voice} I know,

father, trying to get his attention.son. I saw ... I saw, all right.


CUT TO INT: FURTHER IN THE CAVE—NIGHT

They keep moving forward. Thirty feet in¬side, they come to a room that is already litWalter puts the torch aside and they movearound in the room. A forge, where horse¬

shoes are made, is visible. There is a bed, aradio, a hot stove, food in cans, and otheramenities. Another tunnel entrance can be

seen. The cave is some 25feet wide, 30feet

long, and 15feet high. A portion of the roomis carpeted, with a large worn armchairand a kitchen set for eating. There arephotographs on the wall nearest the table,and many yellowed calendars. A pair ofslippers is placed neatly beside the bed,and a robe is flung across it. The light in theroom comesfrom the forge, which has afireburning. Bellows rest on a tree stump next

to the forge. Walter and thomas approachthe bellows andforge. Walter walks over tothe bellows and operates them, thomas

immediately recognizes the sound. He nodshis head and a knowing smile comes acrosshis face. It is the sound he heard before inthe tunnel.

Walter. [He looks to a wall, then upward.]

See, look.

He points to a ladder that leads up a wall tothe underside of a platform.

Walter, That's the platform you stumbled

on.

thomas. He came up through it and grabbedme. He's so strong for an old man.

Walter. Yes . . . but where is he? He didn't

come out the way we came in. He's gotta be

in here someplace.

walter climbs the ladder and checks theplatform. It is locked.

Walter. Well, he didn't go through here,

that's for sure.

thomas points to the other tunnel.

thomas. How 'bout through there?

thomas runs into the tunnel and disap- _

pears into the darkness.¦. -•»

CUT TO INT: THE SECOND TUNNEL

The area is pitch black, except for a smallcircle of light that emanates from the main.'-.

cave, thomas feels his way into the tunnel,when suddenly the heads of two horses-^!*the black and the bay—appear in the circle ^of light, their eyes wide with excitement atthe presence of a stranger, their loud whin-nies echoing through the tunnel, thomas "

yells, turns, and runs.^

CUT TO INT: PLUTO'S CAVE' "

thomas rushes out of the tunnel, catchinghis breath, smiling sheepishly, and shakinghis head. ¦

thomas. Just horses in there, so I figured I'd

better hurry back out here. You shouldn't be ..

alone.v^v

Walter. We'll wait for him. He's gotta come

back sooner or later.

thomas. But, Mama ...

Walter. You're right—if anything happensto her or Kenneth because of—

thomas has walked over to one of thewalls. His attention has been drawn to a

strange-looking rope. It is looped loosely

around a clothes hook.

Walter. What the heck . . . ?

Walter gets the ladder and climbs to a pointwhere his eye is level with the hook. Justabove the hook is a small hole. The ropecomes out of this hole. Walter climbs downthe ladder. He smiles confidently at thom¬as, secure that he has found a clue to

pluto's mysterious disappearance. He puts

286 Drama

[he ladder back, then takes the rope andalls it down like a bell rope. When he lets

^ 0f a, it returns to its original position,fhe wall begins to slide with a loud, gratingsound, and in a moment, stops. Before themiis a huge cavern with stalagmites4 andsralactites5 clearly visible from the light ofthe forge. They can see a slippery, wet¦ramp of chalk-white limestone leadingdownward. Camera closes on Walter and

thomas's faces.

Walter. My Lord in heaven! Look at it! Justlook at it!

Act VIIfade IN TO INT: THE CAVE—A RAMPLEADING TO A LARGE CAVERN—NIGHT

walter and thomas walk down a ramp to ahuge chamber, lit by torches, where plutosits behind a huge desk, which is dark andelaborately veneered6 withfine woods. Thedesk is decorated with seventeenth-

century ornamentation of a most superiorquality. It is probably French Renaissance Jpluto sits behind the desk with his profiletoward Walter and thomas as they ap¬

proach from the ramp. He has one elbowpropped on the desk with his hand underhis chin, index finger extended. A brownwoolen cloak covers his shoulders. Heseems to await thomas and Walter's arriv¬

al with a certain sense of dread, pesty

4.stalagmites (sta lag' mlts) n.: Cone-shapedmineral deposits built up on a cave floor by waterdripping from above.5.stalactites (sts lak' tits) n.: Icicle-shaped mineraldeposits that hang from the roof of a cave.6.veneered (vo nerd') ad/.: Covered with a thin layerof wood of finer quality.7.French Renaissance (ren'a sans): Of a style offurniture developed in France during theRenaissance, a period dating from about 1400 to1600.

stands near the chair, more protective of

the old man than anything else.

CUT TO INT: THE CAVE—WALTER ANDTHOMAS'S POV

The more Walter and thomas survey the

room, the more awestruck they become.

Hanging on all sides of the enormousbarrel-shaped cavern are tapestries andPersian carpets of all colors and designs.

Between the rows of hanging carpets are40foot canoes and whole, richly painted-and crafted totem poles. Here and there areIndian-crafted chests of wood, and piledatop them are blankets of similar design.There are barrels of silks and embroideredmaterials, some of which spill out onto thefloor. There are shoes, jewelry, watches,and chains of gold. One section of one hugewall is covered with glassware. It is like a

prism, ranging in colors from aqua to deepbrown and black.

thomas. Papa, what is all this?

waiter. The treasure of Dies Drear, son.

thomas. [bewildered] But everything looksso new. ,

waiter. These chambers are so far under¬ground that the temperature remains con¬stant. There's no such thing as dust anderosion down here. It's as though time can

stand still.

pesty. That's not always true, Mr. Small.

Sometimes I have to go up there and do alittle polishing up. Like this.

pesty leaves pluto's side and goes to a

ladder. She moves it to a place near thehuge stacks of glass and begins to climb.Her reflection appears in the. glass a thou¬sand times over, creating an almost dream¬

like vision.

Walter. Be careful!


pesty moves deftly, smiles over her shoul¬der.

pesty. No need to worry, Mr. Small. This ismy job. I been doin' this since I was six yearsold.

pluto turns to face thomas and Walter

directly. His hands are atop a set ofyellowing books. Walter notices these oldledgers. He looks reassuringly at pluto,then at pesty, then removes one of theledgers from beneath the old man's hands.Walter studies them.

pluto. An accountin'.

pluto seems old and tired now. He is notthe spry man thomas and Walter chased

into the cave, thomas studies pluto, pesty,and hisfather closely. His eyes move quick¬ly from one to another.

pluto. The day-by-day sale of our people.They aren't Mr. Drear's. Don't know how he

come by them. But they tell a tale or two.

thomas. That's about slavery, Papa?

Walter. A list of slaves bought and sold.

pluto. Y'all found us out. I kinda figgeredyou would sooner or later when you first

came over to the house. . . . All these yearsno one. . . . And then Pesty. My Little OldMiss Bee.

pesty looks at him and smiles and hesmiles back.

pesty. I followed him here one day. He didn't

.know. I guess I musta been about five. He

was scared I'd tell my stepfather, but I neverdid. He and my older brothers would'vecome here an' cleaned Mr. Pluto out. I decid¬

ed this would be my little secret. Mr. Pluto'salways been kind to me.

pluto, [to thomas and walter] Had to trick .you, at first. I thought you'd be like theDarrows an' try an' steal all this. . . .

Walter. I don't understand.

pluto. Some nights the Darrows like to tryan' pretend they're ghosts and scare or

Pluto off the land. But they don't know, do -they, Miss Bee?

pesty smiles, but there is a sound, very

faint, off screen. She hears it and sits upalert

pluto. We shouldn't have fooled you, likethat. Nope. It wasn't the proper thing to do.We had no right. No business.

voice. [OS] [booming, menacing] Thenagain, maybe we had every right in theworld!

Walter stands rigidly, as does thomas.Then Walter spins and turns, a look ofintense anger on his face. When thomas

turns, the sight before him is so astonishinghe sinks to his knees in disbelief. For thereis another pluto, younger, more massive,but with the same flowing beard andpierc-in9 eyes. And this one wears the new hidegloves.

Walter. I knew it! I knew there had to betwo of you!

thomas looks back at the old pluto, thenforward at the young one. He still doesn't

comprehend totally what is happening. Theyounger pluto begins to laugh.

thomas. [to the younger pluto] You are theDevil. You can make yourself into two peo¬ple! Devil! Devil! Devil!

thomas leaps to his feet and attacks thesecond pluto by jumping high and catchingthe man about the neck. He wraps his legsaround the man's torso and entwines his

fingers in the second pluto's long, flowingbeard. The younger pluto shakes him offwith little effort, but the boy still has hold ofthe beard, which peels off the man's face.There is gold and orange dye covering the

false beard and Thomas's hands. Now the'¦o0y is totally stunned. He sits on the floor

looking up at the second pluto as he re¬moves the rest of his stage makeupfrom his

face.

jjaYHEW. [peeling away the mask] "Wewear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes . . .With torn and bleeding hearts we smile . . .We wear the mask!"8

thomas. You're not a devil.

mavhew. [the younger pluto] No. I'm May-hew Skinner. I'm my father's only son.

mayhew removes a half mask with the restof the beard attached, then the white wigand a dyed, plastic substance that lookslike skin.

Walter. Why? Why all this?

pluto. Because of what you see in here. Meand that River Swift Darrow usedta be realclose, an' when we was young we hunted for

[his treasure in here together. . . .[angrily]Funny how folks can turn on you.

thomas. Turn, Mr. Pluto?

pluto. Wasn't long before I come to realize

that this here treasure was more than just a

collection of riches; it was a legacy, boy. OneI was bound to protect. A monument to thehistory of our people. All River Swift wantedwas the money.

thomas. Does he know where this treasureis?

pluto. No. Once we split up, we searched forit separate. I found it, he didn't, but I neverlet on that I did. An' he got about as much

8. "We wear the mask .. These four lines arefrom the poem "We Wear the Mask," by Americanpoet Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906).

chance of findin' it as a leopard got of chang-

in' his spots.

mayhew. That hasn't kept the Darrows from

trying.

pluto. Yea, slinkin' around like snakes,that's what they been doin'.

thomas. But how did you keep them off thisland for so long?

Walter. Thomas, stop askin' so many ques¬

tions. [to pluto] How did you?

pluto. I figured if they could act like thedevil, then I'd act the devil, for real. I snuckin an' outa these tunnels, makin' it seem

like I could appear an' disappear. Had 'em

fooled for years. Other folks, too. People gotto callin' me a demon. Can you imagine that.Here I was protectin' our heritage, an' myown people callin' me a demon. How's that

for gratitude. I had me a good time, though.That is, till I got sick back in January.

Walter. Why did you think we were yourenemies?

mayhew. People in this town have beentreatin' my father bad for years. That's one

of the reasons I left an' went East to work.Couldn't stand it. 'Specially after my motherpassed on.

thomas. But now you're back.

mayhew. Thanks to Edgar Carr.

Walter. Yes, the man at the gas station.

mayhew. And one of the few friends I had inthis town when I was growin' up. He called

me when my father's illness turned worse

three weeks ago.

pesty comes over to thomas and stands

beside him. She smiles.

Walter. Then Carr knows about this cav¬

ern, too?


mayhew. No. No one does. Carr only knew

that strangers were moving into the house,

and that my father had been trying to keepsomething secret from the Darrows and if itwas that important, it should probably bekept from you, too.

Walter. He was afraid we'd be like the

Darrows.

mayhew. So was I. I was the one who ar¬

ranged your furniture.

pluto. Scarin' innocent folks, like that.

Ain't no need, I tell ya. Dies Drear lives.When he wants to be seen, he will be. No

need to pretend he is. He is. Why, Dies Dreartaught the slaves in this very room; how toread, how to follow the crosses, how to

escape. . . .

thomas, [to mayhew] Did you know aboutthis cavern, too?

mayhew. Not until a week ago, when myfather decided he was mortal, like all of us,and thought it time to tell me.

pluto. [sadly] Do you blame me, son?

mayhew. [quietZy] We were so poor, Father.All those years, and there was all thiswealth. . . .

pluto. [interrupting] It wasn't mine to take!It wasn't mine!

mayhew. Dies Drear's been dead a hundred

years. He had no family! You call this ourheritage? The legacy of our people? Well,we couldn't eat heritage, Father. Legacycouldn't put clothes on our back. You and

the memory of that dead abolitionist havebecome so close till sometimes you can't tellwhat's real and what's not!

There is a long pause. Then:

thomas. Papa, does that mean you're gonna

tell the foundation about all this? Will you letthem take it?

Walter looks at thomas a moment, then at

mayhew and pluto.

mayhew. Pesty, come on. It's gettin' late.

Time you were home.

Walter. Mayhew, we could talk about theanswer to his question. That is, if you want

to let me be a part of that decision.

mayhew nods his head.

mayhew. Pesty, you ready?

pesty. [rises] I'm ready.

She goes to pluto and throws her arms

around his neck and gives him a kiss.

pesty. See you tomorrow, Mr. Pluto.

pluto. This still our secret. Right?

pesty. I kept this place a secret six years an'

I'll keep, it sixty if I have to. G'night.

pluto attempts to rise out of his seat, trem¬

bles, and nearly Jails; mayhew rushes to hisside, catching him.

mayhew. Father, you're sick! Quick, let's get

him up to his bed.

Walter and mayhew assist pluto up theramp as pesty and thomas follow.

CUT TO INT: PLUTO'S LIVING QUARTERS

They help pluto as he lies heavily upon hisbed.

pluto. I'm tired, son, so tired. . . .

mayhew. Father, I'll be back as soon as I

can.

pluto. I'll be all right, son. I feel better, so

much better; now that I know a man like Mr.Small is here. He understands what thisplace means. He's a keeper of history, just

like me. He knows. He knows. . . .^

j oo nff to sleep and the others^iTO dnlt* uu

eXlC'

tT T0 EXT: THE CAVE—NIGHTbl,yin to walk away from the cave.

ter. Mayhew, if neither you nor your®At' tis;1eked our kitchen, do you thinkultn'r ^ w?,flC p.irrnu-s did it.

They sure did. They was scared be-

(hcv thought you'd find the treasure'x-H'tr they did, your bein' a historical man,

wr .ill-

rtiosiAS. Was Mac in on it?

rrsTV. No. He got slapped down 'cause he>„uil Thomas was a good friend, and he¦uhililn'( tfo along with nothin' that wouldhut [ Thomas or his family. They been hittin'

!lim loi, lately. It was Daddy and my grownhMiitiers. River Ross, Wilbur, and Russell.

hathew. They'll have to be dealt with, actin'-41 siupid. Like a bunch of vandals on

n.illmvirn.

walter. I'll get the police to put an end toiiirir names once and for all. After all,ihrv've been trespassin' on foundation

pmprrty.

mayhew. Nothing would give me greater|ilc-,i.siire, but first I want to exact the re-

rune myself, and I know just the way. I toldwni | worked back East, didn't I? Well, I'm an•« lor.

tuomas. (holding up the fake mask he hashitched since being in the cave] You coulda

i'Kiled me.

' ^HKjhter.

•"athew. Let me see Pesty safely home,''"•n, Mr. Small, I'm gonna swing by yourI'l.K'c tonight and fill you in on a little some-

I have in mind for the big, bad Darrow!*'Vv

pesty. What about me? I want to be in on it,too. I'm tired of them beatin' up on Mac.

mayhew. Don't worry, you'll be in on it, too.Folks, we're all about to become a companyof actors!

pesty is led off by mayhew, as thomas andWalter stand and watch them a moment.

thomas. Papa, what on earth is he talkin'about?

Walter. I don't know, son. But if I read

Mayhew right, I wouldn't want to be in theDarrows' shoes for all the treasure stored inthis cave.

thomas. Papa, we gotta get home! Mamaand Kenneth still locked in there bythemselves!

They quickly rush off into the night

CUT TO INT: THE KITCHEN—NIGHT

thomas is fighting to stay awake as he sitsat the kitchen table with his parents andmayhew. kenneth is asleep in his mother'slap.

mayhew. What we're about to do is going toinvolve deception, danger, and the utmosttiming in order to be successful. But, once it

works, we will have no more trouble from theDarrows.

sheila. Danger? We're not going to breakthe law, are we?

mayhew. Not a chance. But we are going tobreak some spirits.

thomas sits up straight.

mayhew. Here's a list of things I want you tobuy at the store in town. . . .

He hands Walter the list. Walter reads it asthomas peers over his shoulder.

mayhew. It's absolutely imperative that the


Darrows get wind of the fact that my fatheris very ill and may be hospitalized.

thomas. Really?

mayhew. No, not really, but it's important

that the Darrows believe what Pesty and youare going to tell them. And here's why.

The family leans forward to hear the plan.

CUT TO EXT: HIGHWAY 68—DAY

We see the smalls' car speeding along.


walter. Thomas, we figured out the riddleof the triangles last night while you wereasleep.

thomas. You did?

sheila. Mayhew explained it to us as hisfather had explained it to him.

Walter. The Barrow's stuck those old trian¬

gles around but didn't even know how theslaves and Dies Drear really used 'em.

thomas. Then they weren't meant aswarnings?

sheila. Not in the old days. They were actu-

ally signposts, or beacons, honey. Designedto lead slaves on a route to safety.

thomas. Wow.

walter. The only way to read them is if theyare separate—not put together. Also, youcan't read them if they are lying flat. Theyhad to be stuck upright into somethin' like atree, or a wall, or a riverbank.

sheila. Then, the slaves stood a certain way

in front of the triangle and the points told'em which way to run.

thomas. Man, that Dies Drear was some-thin', wasn't he?

Walter. That's right. And very soon now,

the Darrows are gonna find out just hoiomuch he was somethin' else.

thomas looks at his parents as the carcontinues on to town.

CUT TO EXT: A STREET IN TOWN—DAY

The smalls' car moves slowly down a mainstreet in town.


The whole family seems to be looking forone place in particular.

Walter. Okay, keep your eyes open. Mayhewsaid we'd find it along here, someplace. -

thomas. Hey, there it is!

CUT TO EXT: STREET—DAY

The car comes to a halt in front of a theatersupply store. The smallfamily gets out andgoes inside.

DISSOLVE TO: CUT TO EXT: THEATERSUPPLY STORE—DAY

The small family exits with armloads ofshopping bags. Walter opens the trunk ofthe car and places them inside. They alsoplace a pair of gossamer wings in the trunk.Walter closes the trunk.

thomas. [looking down the street] Papa!

thomas nods in the direction he is lookingand we see the adult darrow men ap¬

proaching them. The looks on their facesconnote curiosity, anger, and hatred. Thesmall family freezes in place.

Walter, [quietly] Just remain calm. Don'tlet on to anything.

river lewis. You be Mr. Small?

Walter. That's right. Don't believe I knowyour name.

river lewis. That's right.

292 Drama

He notices the cans of paint and the paintbrushes that are sitting in the back seat ofthe car.

river lewis. Gettin' ready for somepaintin', huh?

thomas, [broad grin] Yes sir, the wholehouse.

Walter glares at him and thomas demurelysteps back.

river ross. Hear tell you folks had a littleexcitement over there in that house ofyours?

river lewis gives his young son a sharplook, but it is too late, for the statement hasgiven Walter just the opening he needs.

Walter. Oh, you mean old Pluto.

river lewis. Old Pluto?

walter. Yea. He took real sick last night. Webrought him here to the hospital.

river lewis. How sick is he?

Walter. Can't say. They don't allow visi¬

tors. He's gettin' a thorough examination,

though, and I expect he'll be comin' backhome tomorrow.

walter looks away, river lewis suspects heis hiding something.

wilbur. [eyeing Walter] That all?

walter, [innocently] What more could therebe? Well, we gotta be goin'. Got a lotta workin the house needs to be done.

Walter and his family bid them good day.thomas looks back at them. The darrowsstand in the middle of the sidewalk ponder¬ing what they've just heard and gawking atthe smalls, thomas turns his headforwardand stifles several guffaws.

sheila, [at the car] Walter, what if the Dar-

294 Drama

rows go to the hospital checkin' on ourstory?

Walter. Mayhew called Edgar Carr, andCarr took care of the alibi.

The family gets into the car and drivesaway, as the darrows stand watchinqthem.

CUT TO EXT: STREET—DAY

wilbur. I guess that note about Pestyrunnin' over here to find ol' Pluto was thetruth, Daddy.

river lewis. Truth or not, I'm still gonna

whup her butt good for runnin' away fromher chores.

Russell. Daddy, this is as good a chance aswe're gonna get to search that old man'splace.

river lewis. I know that. Whatchu think,I'm some kinda fool?¦

river ross. Then we go tonight? It's theonly chance we got.

river lewis. It'll be tonight. We gon' findthat treasure, if it's the last thing we do. '«

CUT TO EXT: WOODS NEAR THECAVE—NIGHT. CLOSE-UP ON THOMAS:

thomas lies quietly in the grass. We canbarely see the rough clothes he wears. Hiseyes dart everywhere. He'sfrightened andbreathes heavily. He hears footsteps. '

CUT TO EXT: THE ENTRANCE TO THE'CAVE—THOMAS'S POV—NIGHT

The torches out front are not lit. The entire :area is quiet, dark, and eerie.:

CUT TO EXT: THE WOODS—NIGHT]

The darrows, flashlights in hand, make ;their way through the woods to the cave, 1

oassing dangerously close to thomas.When they come to the clearing in front of[lxe cave they stop.

wILBur. I don't like it—why ain't his torch¬

es burnin' on the cave?

river lewis. 'Cause he's gone, like theysaid, an' he ain't here to light them, fool!

river ross. Well, let's quit arguin' an' get

on in there before somebody comes.

CUT TO EXT: THE CAVE—NIGHT

WTO BONDAGE (detail), 1936Aaron Douglasl-fiim-Tibbs Collection, Washington, D.C


The darrows move stealthily across theclearing and creep inside the cave en¬trance. russell takes one of the torches and

lights it. All of the darrows are now inside.We hear a gasp, or scream, and the torch

goes out.

CUT TO INT: THE CAVE—NIGHT

The darrows are cowered near the en¬

trance and ajlashlight is shining upwardtoward the most grotesque and chillingsight they could imagine, pluto has cov¬

ered his entire body, save his head, with a

giant cape that makes him look like awinged bat.

pluto. Ooooooohhhhh! Come, my wingedbird! My Glory! Nightbird! Come, allll yedemonnnnnnnssssssss!!! Aaaaiiiieeee!

Come all ye demons three who walk with meforever. Come parade awhile with Pluto, who

has missed you so.

river lewis, [stunned] What the—?

The sight is so unexpected that he dropshis flashlight and it breaks. The Jour menbegin to back away from the seeming appa¬rition, when another spectacle in the treesabove the cave catches their sight

CUT TO EXT: CAVE—NIGHTOn a ledge above the cave entrance pesty is

astride the bay horse, hidden from viewbehind a black canvas. She drops the can¬vas and creates the following vision; Ahuge white horse with glowing wings sud¬denly appears in the night. This scene iseven more chilling than the last. Thedarrows tremble with fear at the sight ofthe winged creature, wilbur sinks down toone knee as one of his brothers tries to holdonto him. They do not know that pesty iscrouched behind the wings and flappingthem, for the wings hide her perfectly.

wilbur. Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh. . . .

296 Drama

CUT TO EXT: LEDGE ABOVE CAVE—NIGHT ;'V-

pesty is flapping the glowing wings with allshe's got.

CUT TO EXT: CAVE—ANOTHER ANGLE—NIGHTsfe

A rustling sound directly behind the'darrows causes them to turn and face theedge of the clearing, where they come faceto face with the spirits of Dies Drear and thethree escaped slaves of legend, arms reach-ing out to them, chains clanking.

mayhew. [as Dies Drear] Defilers! Come! ¦Come to Dies Drear and meet your fate!

river lewis. Oh, no! It's Dies Drear and the

dead slaves!

The darrows let go of wilbur.

river ross. The legend's true!AaaiiiieeeeeH>fgtt

The specter of Dies Drear begins to laugh >hideously and stretches out its hands as"' ;.

the three slaves clank their chains andmoan and groan, pluto screams from in- yside the cave and the glowing demon horse dcontinues to flap its gossamer wings. Thedarrows are completely surrounded, con: .

fused, and frightened to death.--f

mayhew. Defilers! Come! Come to Dies ~

Drear! Come to Drear and die!

russell. That old Pluto wasn't kiddin'. He

is a demon. Dies Drear is alive! Aaaa!!! If

The darrows nearly fall over each othertrying to get away.'Z .

wilbur. Don't let 'em get us! No! No!

CUT TO EXT: THE CAVE—NIGHT

wilbur scrambles to his feet and leads therest of the darrows in beating a hastyretreat through the woods.

,l,t TO EXT: THE CAVE—ANOTHER ANGLE—

night

The howling and moaning ghosts begin to'aaqh ^eir own natural voices once the

[)-\KROWS have disappeared, pesty sits upfrom her crouched position behind the gos-'<(llTier wings and laughs.

rut TO INT: THE CAVE

,,, uto unhitches himself from the harnessihat held him suspendedfrom the platformdoors in the ceiling and comes down theladder, laughing.

CUT TO EXT.- THE CAVE

waiter, thomas, and sheila begin peelingo//' their makeup, laughing, as well. And

may hew, as Dies Drear, begins to peel away

his false face amid more laughter.

mayhew. They'll figure it out sooner or later.

The point is that for a good half a minute, wescared them half to death.

pluto. Serves 'em right—them fool

Darrows'll never live it down.

mayhew. And tomorrow they'll hear from

I he police!

Walter. Well, Thomas, how do you feel now?

thomas. [serious] I was lyin' on that cold

ground so long, I began to think we wereslaves, for real. Like to 've scared me todeath!

There is a moment when everyone looks at

thomas with mixed emotions.

thomas. I sure learned one thing. I never

wanna be an actor, no sir, not a day in mylife!

Everyone laughs.

CUT TO INT: THE CAVERN—FOLLOWINGDAY—DAY

pluto, mayhew, walter, sheila, thomas, andpesty are viewing the treasure of Dies

Drear.

sheila. Mr. Skinner, how long did you look

for this place?

pluto. Twenty years, but I always knew it

was here.

thomas. Shucks, they gonna start talkin'

about history in another minute.

pesty. Let's go outside. You know how

borin' grownups can get.

thomas. Good idea.

They creep out as the conversation

continues.

mayhew. You see, Father's great-great¬

grandfather was that third slave in thelegend.

Walter. The one who got away from thebounty hunters?

mayhew. That's right. And he passed the

story of the treasure down.

Walter. I knew when I first read that foun¬dation report that the house of Dies Drearwas a wellspring of important history, but Ididn't realize how much.

pluto. [sadiy] Now it's all gonna be takenaway.

Walter, [smiling] Tell me, did Dies Drearever catalog all of this property here?

pluto. No, sir.

Walter. That would have to be done beforeit could be turned over to the foundation.

pluto. [smiling] Yes . . . that's a big job.Could take as long as the rest of an oldman's life.

Walter, [smiling] You don't say?


walter and pluto laugh.

mayhew. Say, Where's Thomas and Pesty?

CUT TO EXT: THE HILL—DAY

pesty and thomas are together on the hilloverlooking the House of Dies Drear.

pesty. So, Thomas Small, the new boy, yougonna stop bein' so snooty like you waswhen we first met you the other day?

pesty laughs.

thomas. Tell ya what. I won't be snooty ifyou stop callin' me "new boy." Okay?

pesty. Okay.

They shake hands on it.

pesty. Do you think we'll ever have as muchexcitement in our lives again?

thomas. I dunno. . . . Life is such a longtime. . . . But I do know I've had enoughadventure to last me the rest of my life.

both. Aaaaaaaaaa-men!

|jj RESPONDING TO THE SELECTION

Your Response1.Do you think that Pluto was right to preserve

the Dies Drear treasure intact, or should he, apoor man, have used some of it to help raisehis family? Explain your answer.

2.Is the outcome of events in this screenplay sat¬isfying? Explain.

Hesaiting3.Explain the solutions to the following myster¬

ies: the sounds Thomas heard in the tunnel,the ransacking of the Smalls' kitchen, and the

• meaning of the triangles.

4.What is going to happen to the treasure of DiesDrear?

298 Drama

1The kids laugh together as the camera 'pulls away; then we hear a sudden, orrii• lnous, rustling noise behind pesty and ^

thomas as they laugh. The children turn <toward the camera and, frightened, they 'scream.

!CUT TO EXT: HILLSIDE, PESTY AND5THOMAS'S POV—DAY

A monster, covered head to toe with leaves,looms over the kids. The "Leaf Monster''

begins to crumble toward the ground, re- •

vealing mac, holding Kenneth on his shoul¬ders. From under the pile of branches and

leaves crawl mac and kenneth, both gig- •

gling and laughing. Angry at first, pesty 'and thomas soon chase and catch them. All

Jour youngsters wrap their arms aroundeach other and tumble to the ground, 'laughing.

FREEZE FRAME:FADE OUT>

Interpretingt5.What is the central conflict, or struggle, in this

screenplay? How are the various charactersinvolved in this struggle?

6.How is Pluto's interest in the Dies Drear trea- :

sure different from River Swift Darrow's? What ;is similar about Pluto's and Walter's attitudes 'jtoward the treasure?•

7.Do you think the "punishment" given to the Dar-rows was equal to the wrongs they committed? •Explain your answer.j

Applyingf8.Walter calls the house of Dies Drear "a well- I

spring of important history." What does this jscreenplay suggest about the relationship be- Jtween history and mystery?|

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